Peer Review

5 tools to create an engaging online course

Material Detail page

Bookmark

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This resource recommends five tools for educators to create engaging online college courses. The article outlines each tool's key features and practical uses, and explains how each supports student interaction and active learning. Overall, the focus is on guiding instructors to foster presence and engagement in hybrid or fully online formats.
Type of Material:: Reference Material
Recommended Uses:: The author recommends an array of resources and strategies for facilitating engaging asynchronous individual assignments, homework, in-class or synchronous sessions, and team-based or peer‑interaction tasks. An instructor teaching online or hybrid courses might use this resource to expand their repertoire of tools and modes of engagement. The tools and strategies recommended are broadly applicable across disciplines.
Technical Requirements:: An updated web browser.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: Users will learn about several strategies to engage students, some of which are reliant on digital tools that facilitate exchanges in the virtual classroom.
Target Student Population:: Graduate School, Professional, Educators, and Instructional Designers
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Basic computer literacy, ability to navigate a web browser, and use a webcam/microphone; familiarity with online course platforms; no advanced technical skill required.

Rating:

Strengths:

The article clearly articulates practical, actionable tools that instructors can apply immediately.
It offers flexible applications for a variety of teaching contexts and disciplines.
It also highlights the importance of cultivating instructor presence and student engagement in online settings.

Concerns:

Published in 2019—some tools or features may have changed or evolved since then. The article could benefit from an update to include several additional, free or freemium resources that have been developed since then and especially in the aftermath of the surge in distance learning during/after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rating:

Strengths:

Offers tangible tools that are efficient and can promote student engagement quickly.
It also relies on strategies that allow instructors to assess the effectiveness of their methods (e.g., use pre‑built platforms to collect responses and track participation or learning progress).

Concerns:

Effectiveness depends on user initiative; no step-by-step guidance.

The potentially uneven digital literacy of students is not explicitly mentioned
Teaching-learning objectives and specific uses cannot be identified since the text is too short.
The item may not promote conceptual understanding.

Rating:

Strengths:

Good starting point for exploration; promotes active learning.

The material does not require instructions and is in a large, stable and well-navigated site, the publication is recent.
The visual layout of the article as well as its tone and style are clean and accessible.

Concerns:

Useful as an introductory resource for faculty exploring online engagement tools. Best paired with deeper guides or training for implementation.

Despite the potential broad applicability, the instructions and expected outcome feel anecdotal and may require instructors to explore the tools independently.
There are no mentions of accessibility features (e.g. captioning, transcripts) for any of the tools recommended
Sample or links to official tutorials, or step-by-step guides, would also support ease of adoption.

Other Issues and Comments:: This article is a valuable introductory practitioner resource offering a limited number of actionable suggestions to boost interaction in online learning environments. It is ideal as a springboard for instructors converting face‑to‑face courses to online or hybrid models.
Creative Commons: