title: Strategies to motivate students in online learning environments.
abstract: We are happy to present the following article as a resource for readers developing or refining online courses. Much work remains to be done to identify and evaluate the relative merits of potential theoretical models for online nutrition instruction. Progress will depend on finding ways to conduct objective appraisals of theory-driven courses in university settings, where randomization is often impossible and courses are often refined in real time to meet students' immediate needs or to take advantage of rapidly evolving technology. Meanwhile, we hope that the concepts and observations described in this Special Article stimulate consideration of the motivational aspects of online courses in practice, research, and institutional policy making.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003, USA. patsy@nutrition.umass.edu
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Beffa-Negrini
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D013334:Students