Creating Inclusive Online Communities: Practices that Support and Engage Diverse Students

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, online and distance education enrolled over 19 million students in the US. As colleges and universities return to in-person instruction, the number of online courses and programs is poised to grow exponentially. At the same time, institutions of higher education are increasingly more diverse--racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically--with present and future students having a range of intersectional needs related to their cultural backgrounds, gendered experiences, and abilities. Sharla Berry offers faculty practical strategies for building asynchronous, synchronous, and blended online courses and programs that are inclusive and engaging for diverse learners.

Recognizing that community is a complex, contextual and constantly shifting concept, Sharla Berry opens this book by addressing how to develop an inclusive approach to online teaching that takes into account the experiences and needs of historically marginalized and underrepresented students. Covering the affordances and limitations of synchronous and asynchronous teaching, as well as hybrid and fully online instruction, she outlines different approaches to course design, and identifies how to use the myriad functions of learning management systems―from collaborative tools to administering tests―to engage students and assess their involvement and progress.

While primarily designed to provide faculty with practical and actionable ideas and strategies, this book will also prove useful to those that support faculty in cultivating teaching excellence. Administrators, instructional designers, faculty developers and support staff will gain insight into how to support faculty in developing robust and inclusive online courses.

This book is a thoughtful and practical resource for anyone involved in the teaching and design of online courses and programs that meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student body in an evolving and multifaceted online environment.

Dr. Sharla Berry is an Assistant Professor of education leadership and an expert in the field of digital equity and online learning. Her research has been featured in many academic journals including Online Learning and the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, and at academic conferences including the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Dr. Berry is committed to using her research to support practitioners in teaching and leading with technology. Various groups have invited her to do keynote speeches and workshops, including the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Instructional Technology Initiative, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), and the International Society of Technology Educators (ISTE). With each unique speech or workshop, Dr. Berry helps practitioners imagine a digitally equitable future, one that helps students of diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds achieve their highest aspirations.

Dr. Katie Linder is currently the executive director for program development at Kansas State University Global Campus. Previously, she directed the award-winning Ecampus Research Unit at Oregon State University. Katie is also a Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation. 

Katie is an avid writer and researcher with a passion for process and peeking behind the scenes at what it takes to be a successful academic. For the past several years, her work has focused on blended course design best practices, institutional supports for accessible online learning, and research literacy for scholarship of teaching and learning practitioners and distance education stakeholders. She speaks on topics related to writing and publication; creativity and productivity; self-promotion and personal branding; and teaching and learning with technology.

Her latest works include Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (Stylus, 2020; co-authored with Kevin Kelly and Tom Tobin), Managing Your Professional Identity Online: A Guide for Faculty, Staff, and Administrators (Stylus, 2018), High-Impact Practices in Online Education (Stylus, 2018), and The Business of Innovating Online (Stylus, 2019). She is also the author of The Blended Course Design Workbook: A Practical Guide (Stylus, 2016). 

Katie earned her BA in English Literature from Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, and her MA and PhD in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from The Ohio State University.

Visit her personal website at: https://drkatielinder.com