In this article, we share design guidelines for the development and use of online, video-based "teaching playgrounds," which provide opportunities for prospective teachers to engage in professional noticing of teaching practices. Through teaching playgrounds, we provide an instantiation of the Presence+Experience framework, which combines the Community of Inquiry model with Kolb's experiential learning cycle. Teaching playgrounds offer a viable mechanism for instructors and designers to incorporate "high touch" learning experiences into "high tech" online teacher preparation courses. Using quantitative methods, we demonstrate the efficacy of online content methods courses incorporating teaching playgrounds. We address implications for the incorporation of online content methods courses in mathematics and science teacher education programs.