The colleges I teach for require weekly live chats, but do not require the students to attend, so needless to say I have very few students attend. Has anyone else had the same experience? How do you entice the students to attend if it is not a requirement?

It's funny to me that some times in a class room when you ask a question (especially if its a general question) everyone in the class answers at the same time. I've had better conversations at a Sammy Hagar concert!!! :) I can see where this information could not only work on the net but in the class room as well.

I would love to hear some of your techniques to engage your online students that have worked well for you. Here is a template for a jeopardy game that I found was fun for "Live Chats!" http://www.jmu.edu/madison/teacher/jeopardy/jeopardy.htm

I have found that calling each of my students one time a week has made a difference in my class. Not all of them will answer my calls but I still leave a voicemail and follow up with an email letting them know how they are doing in the class and offing all the help and support they need. I even found that some of my procrastinators are turning in assignments on time now because I have taken the time to build a relationship with them. Are there any other suggestions on how to retain students and keep them motivated?

I haven't taught an online course yet. Hope to soon though. My question concerns tech support from your school. Is there a tech support person designated to assist instructors/students who are particpating in an online course?

I have generally liked the idea of pretests. Obviously there can be a specific post-test, but various assessment tools can also be put into place to focus on and expand upon knowledge gained. I also think that the idea of “concept maps” looks interesting. This would help in both the creation of curricula as well as course and student assessment. Often student evaluations are in place in online classes. This concept has, I believe its roots in the “free-speech” movement in California universities I the ‘60s. The instrument students are to use is important. It can focus specifically on the class, but it can also have elements added to focus on other areas. If students cannot find a voice to address issues outside the class, their evaluation can be skewed to reflect issues outside the class which they can see no other way to address.

I believe that student evaluations, along with self-evaluations and peer-evaluations are an important aspect to continuous improvement.

Feedback to the students and from the students is an essential component of communication. We must keep in mind the objectives of the assignments, the nature of the class, and continue to give positive feedback as much as we can.

Regarding the second module... In the online environment communication is essential for the students to feel somehow connected to the instructor. Not only do we hold twice weekly live chat sessions, but I utilize email, a blog, and discussion boards.

I find that students who are disruptive, quiet, pushy, or just downright don't participate really need just a little personal attention. I usually send them a quick, terse email on what I think about their participation and what it means to the class. I then ask them to rejoin with a different attitude and end on a positive note about their work thus far. What other techniques have you used?

I have implemented a facebook page for each of our courses where the students can sign in and talk about the class, what they are doing in their free time, and they have back and forth conversations with myself and other classmates. Although I have to remind them that their comments will be screen before they are uploaded, often it creates a solidarity among the students. Are there any other social media sites that can mitigate this type of laid back conversation between students?

In our forums we have a designated time and space for chatting about a topic that I post. This is done in a real time, I.M. style of chatting. Although I often see digressions, it helps us learn about one another and can make it really fun. Has anyone one else had this experience?

I recently taught a blended class, by which I mean half of the class was online and the other half was in-class. I thought this was extremely helpful in student retention because I could check up on them face to face as well as online. I had a huge success rate with this class and I really feel I got to know my students better. Has anyone else taught a class like this with similar experiences, or was it not as successful as a pure online course?

When developing meaningful feedback, it is important to consider the course objectives. I also like to point out a strength of each student in order to increase self-confidence and participation. I also will explain where a student can improve and provide details on how to do that.

When developing feedback for assignments or projects, it is important to tie the feedback to the course objectives. Commenting on specific areas in which a student did well or poorly can reinforce areas of learning. Vary assignments whenever possible to deal with different levels of learning and knowledge.

When developing feedback for assignments or projects, it is important to tie the feedback to the course objectives. Commenting on specific areas in which a student did well or poorly can reinforce areas of learning. Vary assignments whenever possible to deal with different levels of learning and knowledge.

Hello again, As an instructor, will I be fully creating a course, filling in a frame or a shell, or is the course fully set up? In the last scenario, can I implement change, and if so, how? Creating a syllabus or as necessary amending a syllabus to present areas of study as well as expectations is an important foundation. Determining what needs to be done to prepare an online course is, of course, of primary concern. It was a little odd to see the concept of “scaffolding” used for education, although perhaps this is a commonly used term. Years ago in a French class, a teacher talked about how Rabelais felt knowledge required a foundation upon which to add more knowledge. However it is worded, this is an important concept. Since an instructor will not have full knowledge of what type of foundation a student has in a particular subject area, often some sort of pre-test can be of value. Finding ways to adapt curricula to be easily accessed by different learning styles if also an important element in teaching. Today, students will often have read information about their dominant learning style, and they may ask for different forms of presentation or activities.

Hello, Often because most people have written since kindergarten or before, they may assume they write well and in a professional manner. For one particular institution where I have worked, an editor was in place, and after curriculum was in place, either she or one of her assistant editors would copy edit it. In this case, the school overall used APA format. In other schools, I have sometimes seen a variety of errors in the wording for the directions and assignments in the online classes themselves. If a school or a department has chosen a particular academic style, I think it is important to have all instructions for online classes to follow that style and focus on general literacy. Students learn from what they see. In a class I took while working for a degree a year ago, one of the textbook used was particularly interesting. In Usability Testing and Research by Carol Barnum, in a chapter that focused on various levels of usability testing, information was provided that on many cases, information is created so that the managers who need to approve it will understand it. This can lead to problems. Ideally, information presented for use in online classes should focus on student understanding and accessibility. Testing is very important. All links need to work well. Iteration also needs to be in place, where sites can be checked regularly to make sure everything is working well. Also, it is beneficial to review course content regularly to see if changes or updates are needed for the material presented to students.

I Think the easiest way to make your presence known is constant communication. I try to respond to all emails within 24 hours so students feel like I am accessible. Teaching online is tricky in the sense that students will start to feel anxious if they feel like the instructor is in a virtual cloud.

The hardest part about managing online instruction is engaging students in a dialogue that makes them return after they post their initial post. How do you get students to return after their required post has been posted? That is a questions I have about maintaining the fidelity of online discussions.