This short podcast episode is the second with Curt Bonk when he was visiting Adelaide in November 2012.  I asked what was the next contribution to online learning and teaching we could expect from him.  Curt describes the new online resource and book he an a colleague in NZ are about to release. It is about how teachers can improve motivation and retention in online courses.

Curt and Elaine Khoo of the university of Waikato in NZ have developed  the “TEC-VARIETY” model or the 10 principles of motivation. This mnemonic stands for:

• Tone/Climate: Psych Safety, Comfort, Belonging
• Encouragement: Feedback, Responsive, Supports
• Curiosity: Surprise, Intrigue, Unknowns
• Variety: Novelty, Fun, Fantasy
• Autonomy: Choice, Flexibility, Opportunities
• Relevance: Meaningful, Authentic, Interesting
• Interactive: Collaborative, Team-Based, Community
• Engagement: Effort, Involvement, Investment
• Tension: Challenge, Dissonance, Controversy
• Yielding Products: Goal Driven, Success, Ownership

Each of the principles has a chapter with 10 activities in each.  This will be a very practical tool for teachers to develop their online facilitation in these areas.

This “Bonk Book” is almost finished and it will be available free to people online.  We go on to talk about how a teacher can use this resource.  It is not a book of theory but practical ideas for teachers facilitating technology enhanced learning and teaching to use. Please listen to the podcast and see the potential.

Sample Chapters available for download.

• Table of Contents and Preface to the book
• Chapter 1: Introduction to the book and TEC-VARIETY model
• Chapter 7: Autonomy
• Chapter 8: Relevance
• Chapter 9: Interactive

Podcast Episode:

The embedded Youtube video below is a synchronous session in his MOOC described in the previous podcast episode. It is a 1 hour session where Curt describes the TEC-VARIETY model in more depth. It is worth a watch.