What is Social Media Technologies

This chapter deploys notions of learning, design, and professional development to conceptualize practical techniques for humanizing teachers' experience in an online course. Course design is approached from an eclectic theoretical lens to transform teacher perceptions and attitudes, and develop web 2.0 skills for teaching. A synthesis of data revealed consistently high (90-95%) student satisfaction, including perceptions indicative of a cultural shift. Improved learner motivation, engagement, retention and success are attributed to design techniques perceived by students as having humanizing effects. These relate to the course environment and navigation, content design, communication and interaction, student responsibility, active and collaborative learning, support, technology integration, and teaching with video. The case raises implications for digital delivery, interest-driven learning and the development of 2.0 skills in the context of both short professional development and semester length courses.