Misinformation and AI-Generated Propaganda | Online Course Design Reflection

Introduction

Technology is rapidly advancing, both in education and on a larger scale. This is a double-edged sword with both positive and negative consequences. Within the educational landscape, online learning has been more widely used and accepted in informal, nonformal and formal contexts. As I have already mentioned in my Online Learning Manifesto, the online learning modality makes education more accessible for people with disabilities or learners not local to the area (Moore, 2026). In some cases, the online modality makes learning more affordable. Higher education is often less expensive for online courses compared to that of traditional in-person courses. However, online learning still requires a smart device, preferably a computer, and secure access to the internet. This might not be feasible for learners in lower income households.

Despite the overall positive impact of online learning, there have been other technological advances that come with unforeseen consequences. A large challenge that internet-users face today is the spread of misinformation and AI-generated content. Misinformation and AI-generated content used to support misinformation have invaded nearly every corner of the web, and without public education or legal intervention, it will only continue to fester. With this in mind, I set out to design an online course for adults centered around misinformation and AI-generated propaganda. This course was designed for learners to explore its contents over the span of three-four weeks. In the following video, I provide an overview of my online learning course, detail the learning objectives, describe the activities and discuss the final assessment.

Creative and Intentional Design for Online Learning

Autonomy, accessibility, and reflection are the foundations of my online learning course. I discuss in-depth about the importance of learner autonomy and choice in my Online Learning Manifesto (Moore, 2026). Online learning provides a unique opportunity for self-guidance, reflection and decision-making. For two of the readings, I created additional video lectures so learners could choose which format best suits their needs and learning style. This intentional design element is unique to the online modality. This design choice made the content more accessible by creating alternative ways to engage with it. I wanted to design a course that could lead to meaningful learning experiences for a variety of learners. I achieved this goal by weaving intentional and accessible design throughout the course. I utilized the YouTube video platform, which generates captions, transcripts and language translations. For my videos, I transcribed the captions to make sure they were correct. I also ensured that all of my provided resources were easily available and accessible. I used high-contrast text and background, and ensured that color was not the only visual cue used to distinguish elements (Michigan State University, n.d.). I encouraged deep reflection by designing a reflection journal activity. I asked the learners guided questions that corresponded to their learning objectives and offered them choices between different questions or prompts. The learners were not required to adhere to traditional standards of grammar or sentence structure. I also encouraged them to be creative with their reflections. I encouraged choice but also offered suggestions. This provided opportunities for learners to reflect on the content without needing to worry about certain rules. This is especially helpful for learners whose first language is not English or learners with disabilities such as dyslexia. These intentional design choices reflect my goal to create an inclusive learning activity that honors diverse forms of expression and communication (CAST, n.d.). The journal is the culmination of autonomy, accessibility and reflection, and represents the core themes weaved throughout the entire course.

Critiques and Suggestions for Online Learning

As discussed, online learning has positively altered the landscape of education. Despite this, the online modality does have its downsides. Learner motivation can be difficult to maintain. I firmly believe that learners will get out of an experience what they put into it, and while learner motivation can be a challenge in traditional courses, it is especially difficult to keep learners interested and engaged. This is another reason why I offered them choices; some learners find reading long texts disengaging, while others find listening to lectures boring. I also included other types of media from different sources, such as short videos, TED Talks, academic articles, book chapters, slide presentations, games and interactive activities. The content which defines and describes misinformation and AI-generated propaganda provides learners with the necessary information I want them to know. The games and activities reinforce that information, and the discussion post and final quiz assesses their ability to complete the learning objectives.

Another critique of online learning is that it often feels impersonal, as opposed to the traditional, in-person counterpart. It is difficult, if not impossible, to recreate the face-to-face experience of traditional learning. However, there are ways to humanize online courses. This process begins with empathizing with your learner and getting to know them as real people, opposed to names on a screen (Pacansky-Brock, n.d.). To achieve this goal, I designed a learner inventory survey that allowed learners to inform me about accessibility concerns, background information and pre-existing knowledge about the course material. I incorporated humanizing elements throughout the course, like the welcome video and video lectures, to establish presence, verbal and non-verbal communication cues and my authentic self (Pacansky-Brock, 2020). These solutions are not necessarily a replacement for in-person interaction, but they do provide alternatives that make online learning more successful and impactful.

Conclusion

From brainstorming to prototyping to iterating, I have learned how to design meaningful learning experiences in an online environment. My course embodies my beliefs about online learning by establishing autonomy, designing accessibility and encouraging reflection. I overcame many challenges of online learning by providing a variety of content and experiences, and incorporating humanizing elements. Overall, I am grateful for this experience, and look forward to applying these learnings to my next learning experience design.

References

CAST (2024). CAST Universal design for learning guidelines version 3.0. https://udlguidelines.cast.org

Michigan State University. (n.d.). Digital accessibility: Basic accessibility checklist. https://webaccess.msu.edu/tutorials/basics/checklist

Moore, A. (2026, April 28). Misinformation and AI-generated propaganda | Course overview. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/7r7H1HKlirc

Moore, A. (2026). Online learning manifesto. Adri Moore design: LX blog. https://www.adrimooredesign.com/malxd/online-learning-manifesto

Pacansky-Brock, M. (2020). How to humanize your online class, version 2.0 [Infographic]. https://brocansky.com/humanizing/infographic2

Pacansky-Brock, M. (n.d.). Getting to know you survey. Michelle Pacansky-Brock's website. https://brocansky.com/humanizing/student-info