Although online and other forms of distance education have existed for decades, the events of 2020 and global shut down of in person education brought both a new spotlight and new scrutiny to the potential quality of online education. One of the main challenges that has been identified with online education, in both synchronous and asynchronous courses has been the difficulty with creating opportunities for students to actively participate in their education. Discussion board posts with replies to two other students have long been a standard in online coursework for a student to demonstrate participation, however, these posts have rarely replicated the unique interactions that an in person, seated classroom affords.

The demonstrable positive opportunities that asynchronous coursework affords the student include everything from flexibility for scheduling to attend class, to self-pacing for completion of course content. Getting students to engage with the course content requires more than simply moving assignments from a seated course to an online environment.

This presentation will include a case study of lessons learned from online course development and implementation over 30 semesters. Early assignments and methods will be discussed as well as the process taken to update content and course delivery to improve student engagement. Methods for increased student engagement will be discussed, as well as specific electronic apps for student presentations and engagement. Evidence of increased student engagement with course content as well as improved assignment and course outcomes will be presented.

Keywords: Technology, student participation, active learning, student engagement.