Absorb
Absorb activities sound like an oxymoron but they are those activities where learners gain the information they need. Examples include: videos, readings, or podcasts. Typically, absorb activities take less time in online classes than they do in face-to-face classes where lecture is popular form of instruction.
Here are some common examples of absorb activities.
Presentations (slide shows, videos, demonstrations)
Presentations are usually best used when information can best be conveyed visually and the presentation can help the learner visualize something that is difficult to convey by other means. Learners typically tune out after five or six minutes so it is important to keep presentations pithy.
Readings
Use reading activities to present complex and difficult information in a stable form for careful study by the learner. Reading activities are important for moving beyond memorizing and recalling information and they can be used to encourage learners to find and understand information. It is often useful to have reading activities available to students where they will need to use it (as a reference in responding to a discussion, for example).
Stories by a teacher
Stories told by a teacher can be a great way to make a point memorable. They can be a type of presentation, and should also be pithy. When done by a teacher storytelling is an absorb activity, when done by a student, it is often a connect activity.
Field trips
An instructor may wish to send students to a local museum or exhibit that is relevant to the course. There may be other types of venues that an instructor may wish for students to see. For example, watching a city council meeting might be an activity for a political science class or a speech class. One should take as much care in arranging for transportation, etc. with an online class as one would with a face-to-face one. But, don’t be afraid to expand your classroom in an online class.
These also include “virtual exhibits” available online.
Do
Do activities are where students practice the knowledge. These are similar to formative assessments that we discussed in the previous module. Typically “do” activities have lower stakes and allow for students to have multiple attempts. The focus in on mastering new knowledge or skills. This is equivalent to doing basketball drills to prepare for a game.
Here are some common do activities as well as best practices
Practice activities
Drill and practice (worksheets, quizzes from textbook publisher). Best used for foundational material that will be used again and again. Also, it is good to gradually increase the difficulty level of these activities.
Hands-on activities (performing a calculation with an on-screen calculator; completing a dialogue in a foreign language; or filling in a missing term in a piece of computer code.)
Guided-analysis activities (these ask students to apply a schema to a situation. For example, agronomy students may be asked to classify soil based on a chart that shows the proportion of sand, silt, and clay in the soil.)
Discovery Activities
Case studies: these are often scenarios where an instructor presents a situation that requires learners to draw upon course knowledge to reckon with a complex problem.)
These are often best used when instructors would like for learners to draw upon multiple sets of knowledge and draw fine distinctions and work with shades of meaning. These are often good once students have mastered foundational concepts.
Games and Simulations
Similar to case studies, games can be a good way for learners to draw upon multiple sets of knowledge and draw fine distinctions. Games can also help stimulate learners curiosity.
Connect
Connect activities help learners close the gap between learning and the rest of their lives. They prepare learners to apply learning in situations they encounter at work, in later learning efforts, and in their personal lives. The purpose of these activities is not necessarily to learn something new – that is typically for absorb and do activities – but rather to link something that is already known or prompt an application of learning.
Here are some common connect activities as well as best practices
Ponder activities
Requires learners to think deeply and broadly about a subject. Learners may answer rhetorical questions, meditate about a subject, identify examples, evaluate examples, summarize learning, or brainstorm ideas.
Questioning activities
Let learners fill gaps and resolve confusion by asking questions of teachers, other experts, or fellow learners.
Stories by learners
Learners relate subject matter to events in their own lives.
Job aids
Apply learning to real-life examples of tasks. Examples include: glossaries, calculators, or e-consultants. These are items that students can make for their own self-reference in their professional practice.
Research activities
Requires learners to discover and use their own sources of information. These include scavenger hunts and guided research.
Original work
Requires learners to perform genuine work and submit it for critique. These are often long-term projects.
Reference
The absorb, do, connect schema comes from William Horton, E-Learning by Design, second edition, New York: Wiley Publishing, 2011. (Requires UWGB login.)