ABSTRACT
Engaging, enlightening activities are central to any successful online psychology course. Without activities, the online course would resemble a self-taught tutorial where students read the text and repeat back to the instructor what they have learned. Activities bring the course to life; activities facilitate discourse and community building; activities build and develop higher order skills; and perhaps most importantly of all, the activities are of en what students really remember, and what they take with them long after leaving the course. Consider a general psychology course: Of en, students who are asked to participate in simulations of classic studies, or who engage in debates, group projects, or other interactive activities, tend to reflect with great enjoyment upon these experiences. Online psychology courses should be no Different: The introduction of a computer screen and a physical distance between course members should in no way hinder student ability to interact, to work together, to develop new ideas, and to arrive at innovative conclusions. If anything, the nature of the online classroom (from the incorporation of handy new technologies, to the energetic flow of the discussion boards) lends itself especially well to creating and implementing worthwhile, exciting activities. Thus, the goal of this chapter is to provide psychology instructors with the background knowledge and expertise to integrate valuable activities into their online courses.
