For years, we have asked our ACUE Certified instructors what they would find valuable in a community, and, consistently, we have heard the response “content refreshers,” or brief reminders about practices learned in ACUE courses to inspire continued implementation.

In order to identify which practices to highlight, we took a deep dive into your aggregated Practice & Reflect survey data. Which practices represented new learning? Which practices did you implement the most? The least?

Our first content refresher features a practice that represents new learning for a number of course-takers but can have a significant impact for students. This practice, “create a video explainer for rubric criteria,” increases transparency about assignment expectations and can lead to fewer questions and higher quality submissions. 

In the video below, you’ll hear from Dr. Andrea Jackson and Professor Mya Rome about how they use this practice and from students about the benefits.

As you prepare to create your own rubric explainer video, we invite you to review our implementation guide. 

Is this a practice you planned to implement when engaged in your ACUE course? Return to your What’s Next Report to check off this practice and others you set plans to implement.

Dr. Michael Wesch believes you should incorporate videos into your online courses for these five reasons:

1. They put more “you” and your “you-ness” into your course.
2. They help to build relationships.
3. They can validate and motivate students.
4. They can be used to establish transparency, addressing students’ frequently asked questions and saving you time.
5. They can communicate key messages to your students.

However, if you’ve never created your own video, where do you start? In this video, Dr. Wesch shares “super simple” tech tips and advice for recording yourself, with confidence.