Blend but Don’t Break:
Introducing the TEC-VARIETY and R2D2 Models for Online Motivation and Engagement
Curtis J. Bonk, Indiana University
In the age of the pandemic, everyone is talking about the need to motivate and engage their online and blended students. In dealing with COVID-19, online instructors throughout the world are seeking to integrate technology in more effective and creative ways, while remaining cognizant of the disparity in student Internet access, basic digital learning competencies, and time, space, and hardware availability. In spite of these challenges, some have found ways to push the edge of the online teaching and learning envelope in new and innovative ways, whereas others have striven to find low risk, low cost, low time activities; in effect, they blend but don’t break. In response, Professor Curt Bonk will detail two of his designs for how to engage and empower learners and move them from bland online content and unimaginative activities to offering flexibility, choice, and creativity. In part, Bonk believes that learners want more variety, or more specifically, they want ‘TEC-VARIETY’. Fortunately, his “Adding Some TEC-VARIETY: 100+ Activities for Motivating and Retaining Learners Online” book is free to download in both English and Chinese at: http://tec-variety.com/. Hence, you can creatively blend without breaking the bank!
In addition, he will discuss his model called Read, Reflect, Display, and Do (R2D2) from his book, “Empowering Online Learning: 100 Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing.” This model for online and blended learning can address different student learning strategies or preferences. It also is purposefully designed to help one focus on addressing learner diversity and inclusion. When combined, R2D2 and TEC-VARIETY can enhance, elevate, and even transform the quality of technology-enhanced FTF classrooms as well as fully online and blended courses to meet diverse learner needs around the planet; which is especially valuable during the pandemic.
Dr. Curt Bonk is Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University where he teaches psychology and technology courses. From 2012 to 2018, Bonk has been annually named by Education Next and listed in Education Week among the top contributors to the public debate about education from more than 20,000 university-based academics. In 2020, Curt was awarded the IU President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Technology.
About the speaker:
Bonk has given more 1,700 talks and published a dozen books, including his groundbreaking 2020 volume with Routledge, MOOCs and Open Education in the Global South as well as The World Is Open, Empowering Online Learning, The Handbook of Blended Learning, Electronic Collaborators, Adding Some TEC-VARIETY (free as an eBook http://tec-variety.com/). His research focuses on emerging learning technologies, online and blended learning, MOOCs and open education, and the global impacts from collaborative technology.
He can be contacted at cjbonk@indiana.edu and his homepage is http://curtbonk.com/.