Designing Online Learning for Children and Youth

Students at the primary and secondary levels are increasingly enrolling in online courses either to supplement or completely replace their in-person courses. While there are benefits to learning online, they come at a cost, and students are less likely to pass their online courses compared to their in-person courses. In this chapter, we share two frameworks. We share the 4Es framework that highlights how online courses should be designed to enable, extend, engage, and elevate student learning. However, a well-designed course is not enough, and most students will require support from others to be successful. For this reason, we also share the Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework that highlights the supports that can increase a student’s affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement. The ACE framework identifies actors within the student’s personal community and course community who can provide students with the support that they require.