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Haiyan Qiao, an Instructor at CSU San Bernardino, utilized slides to develop a guided group assignment discussion for an asynchronous online course. This can be used as a reference/template for structured group discussions to promote student interaction and facilitate collaborative problem-solving in a group assignment.

Regan Bynder, Instructor from California State University, Channel Islands, created an interactive assignment supporting learner engagement with Playposit. Students will select 1 of the 4 videos provided, develop 3-5 questions they can ask about teacher practices, techniques, and activities used to support integration of science, technology, engineering and math concepts throughout the video, and create a learner bulb with their questions for peers to respond to.

Argero Zerr, an instructor from CSU Channel Islands, created a PlayPosit assignment. This PlayPosit assignment corresponds to a Youtube video for a TEDx talk titled “Why does it take so long to grow up today?” by Dr. Jeffrey Arnett. The assignment includes a series of multiple choice questions which test comprehension of the material throughout the video. The assignment also includes poll questions and discussion questions which encourage students to reflect on their own opinions and experiences with emerging adulthood.

Sumaya Bezrati, Instructor from California State University, Channel Islands, uses VoiceThread to have students practice giving cardinal directions in her Arabic 101 class. This is an active learning assignment in which students record themselves describing a country's location in Arabic and other students have to guess which country they are talking about. Through this activity, students become familiar with the names and locations of countries in the Arab World and are able to practice their speaking and listening skills in a fun and interactive way.

Samanta de Frutos García, an Instructor of Spanish at CSU Channel Islands, created a final project assignment for SPAN 102: Elementary Spanish II. The template provides guidelines for students to create a VoiceThread presentation using vocabulary, grammatical constructions, and cultural knowledge learned in this course using the free Spanish textbook Libro Libre. This project assesses students’ ability to answer questions and report orally to demonstrate basic functional proficiency in Spanish, talk about familiar topics, compare and contrast cultural similarities and differences between the United States and Spanish-speaking countries, and present the information and cultural insights gained through the TalkAbroad sessions. This can be modified to fit any class.

Diana Lenko, Instructor from California State University, Channel Islands, used VoiceThread to create an assignment that encouraged peer-to-peer learning and enabled students to participate and collaborate using one of five powerful commenting options: microphone, webcam, text, phone, and audio-file upload, and do it at their own pace. The collaboration tool is also fully integrated into Canvas, so students and instructors don't have to log in to the platform separately. By watching videos of exemplary speakers and exploring the key leadership concepts in action, students gained insights into the communication strategies and leadership attributes essential to effective leaders.

Aric Mine, an Instructor at Fresno State, uses an episode from Radiolab as a foundation for discussion in an introductory assignment in a climate change and environmental science class. It was formerly just a short answer response submission by individual students (file uploaded; screenshot of discussion prompt) which has now been expanded to include a discussion on Canvas that helps segway to the following week where water usage is introduced with a Jamboard (linked). This exercise engages students via three different means of communication and interaction. They listen to a podcast, reflect on their understanding and communicate that understanding in written form to the instructor and to their peers in an active discussion. They're also then subsequently engaged with a Jamboard that builds off this introductory activity, expanding the engagement tools used in this course.

Stacey Aprile, an Instructor at CSU Stanislaus, developed an activity where students read about learning styles, take a self-assessment, and apply their learning to their future classroom. This activity provides students with the opportunity to connect with like-communication style peers for possible extension activities in the course.

Robin Whitney, an Instructor from San Jose State University, uses a TEDEd Lesson to introduce the differences between qualitative and quantitative research. This lesson uses a short video instead of an assigned reading with questions embedded to actively engage students in the assignment.