I can sense the hesitation from here: “But Rachael, group work is hard enough to do in my face-to-face class. How could I possibly get it to work online?”

Well, let’s talk about that!

Start small: group work doesn’t need to be complicated. For each lab activity you assign, ask your students to report their findings in a dedicated discussion board. This could be done within pre-arranged groups or as a class. Then ask students to compare data sets and post their observations and questions. Lively discussions around experimental design and sources of error will soon follow. Depending on the lab, you could even ask your students to analyze the class data as a whole to calculate average values and percentage error.

When you’re ready to up the ante, you can assign projects to smaller groups of students who must work together to deliver a single product. To increase the odds that your groups function smoothly, use LMS analytics to see which students engage early and often with the course, then group these students together. This will reduce some of the friction that comes when one student obsesses over deadlines more than the rest of their group.

Speaking of deadlines, why not have a few? By establishing checkpoints throughout the project, rather than a single due date, you create a framework that helps groups make consistent progress toward their final product. And likely reduce the number of emails about how So-and-So didn’t do their portion of the assignment the night before it’s due.

Have you tried group work in your online classes? How is it going?

We all know the challenge of distance learning microbiology: ensuring students don’t just "check the boxes" on their Carolina Biological kits, but actually synthesize what they’ve learned. To wrap up each semester in my online microbiology course, I’ve moved away from a standard final and toward a "Virtual Microbiology Conference".

The goal is to take those at-home results and treat them with the same gravity as a professional research project. Here is how it works:

The Activity: The Virtual Microbiology Conference

Instead of a final report, students select their most successful (or most interesting) lab investigation from the semester to present to their peers on a discussion board.

The Professional Requirements:

• Conference-Style Slides: Students build a deck covering the full scientific arc: Introduction/Background, Hypotheses, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

• The "So What?" Factor: I require a section on Broader Application, specifically asking how the findings relate to their future career fields (nursing, public health, etc.).

• Audio Voiceover: To mimic a live talk, students must embed an audio narration, practicing the "soft skills" of scientific communication.

• The Peer Review: Using the discussion board, students act as conference attendees by asking questions, providing feedback, and discussing data discrepancies.

Why It Works

It shifts the mindset from student to researcher. By the time they finish, they aren't just saying "bacteria grew on my agar on my agar plate"; they are presenting data in a format they will actually encounter at professional conferences or in their careers. It’s also a great way for them to see the variety of results their classmates got from the same Carolina kits!

Just as you or I would prepare for a presentation with talking points or a script, students will also need to prepare their thoughts in advance. And yes, there will be students who take this opportunity to let AI do the heavy lifting. But you’ll notice very quickly that students are much more comfortable presenting their own words and ideas than those given them by ChatGPT.

Video not only reveals the ill-prepared, but it also facilitates a greater connection between you and your students, especially if you pair these assignments with some videos of your own.

Whether you use video assignments or not, video can still be a tool in your teaching toolbox. Remember that the authenticity this medium gives to students’ work also applies to you. You may already be leveraging videos in a get-to-know-you module or weekly updates; but have you considered giving students feedback through videos?  Dr. Tonya Jackson-Lopez has implemented video feedback with her students at Mohave Community College. She says, “If the feedback needs to be a little bit more constructive or if it needs to be a little harsh…it’s very different when it’s coming from someone’s face. Whereas when you read the dreaded red pen comments on things it can feel like an attack. But I’ve noticed that students don’t take constructive criticism in that way when it comes in the video format.”

Now, you’re probably thinking this is going to be a time-consuming exercise. But Dr. Jackson-Lopez says that giving video feedback actually makes her grading easier: “Video feedback is also much faster for me. I was always concerned on how my students would take advice…I’m always worried about tone, or they think I’m being too harsh. And because I’m not worried about that anymore, it’s much, much quicker and it saves me a ton of time.”

So, if you’re looking to give your course a facelift in 2026, I submit the humble video for your consideration. Not because online learning needs more technology, but because it needs more humanity. Our faces, our voices. Asynchronous shouldn’t mean anonymous.

Another area you can improve upon early engagement is within the first week assignments.   Do not forego the introductory discussion board, and make sure you are frequently posting and responding to each student in a substantive manner.  But after that, make sure you also provide an activity that will challenge the students intellectually, but at the same lay the cornerstone to their confidence in the course.  Consider using a short video or simulation and pair it with guided questions that prompt curiosity rather than assessment pressure.  Early formative assignments such as simple data interpretations or reflections prompts help students practice scientific thinking while learning how feedback works in your course.  Just like the introductory discussion board, make sure your feedback is prompt and substantive.