Getting Them Excited: Designing an online course based on the ARCS Model to encourage attention, relevance, confidence and student satisfaction in a general educational humanities class.
Abstract: A required general educational humanities class can often create a lot of first day student questions of, “Why do I Have to Take This Class?” This presentation showcases best practices in creating an engaging, relevant online course. Based on the principles of John Keller’s (2010) ARCS method of motivational design for learning and performance, the course curriculum is designed to generate and sustain attention, establish and support relevance to the learner, build the confidence of the learner and manage outcomes for satisfaction. All of these increase learner motivation, leading to a greater mastery of the subject matter and ultimately achieving the goals of the course objectives. Participants will leave the session with practical tools in interaction, collaboration, and assessments which can be immediately applied to their own courses. The main goal of the session is to encourage new ways and ideas for getting students excited about the humanities in an online learning environment.