Kathleen Watts

It is important for students to collaborate with their peers during online courses. This engages the student and forms an online community which gives the student a similar experience as would a traditional classroom setting.

Time management and motivation are essential for student success in an online platform. Instructor feedback encouraging the student is crucial so they retain the sense of belonging that is felt within a traditional classroom structure. 

Communication between the instructor and students are the key to a successful course. There should be clearly outlined protocols on how to contact the instructor and what method of communication is preferred. It is important that students know what the instructor’s virtual office hours are to avoid frustration.

Communication within an online course is paramount for student success. Virtual communication can be achieved by email, chat rooms, Zoom/Skype or social media.

Revision of a course is an ongoing process. This will prevent the class from getting outdated and keep new ideas and methods current. Updates should be incorporated using multiple sources.

I have learned that student feedback does not have to be limited to text in the online environment. Audio and video feedback can be extremely useful to students to refocus their answers. 

Creating a sense of community is important for student retention and success. A student who is participating regularly is getting the most resources from the classroom regardless if it is an on-campus class or an online classroom. To achieve better online participation we can incorporate discussion boards, group chats or group projects which encourage interaction and build teamwork.

Keeping courses structured and uniform will contribute to student sucesss. Students will become more confident and less frustrated when accessing course material.

By using creativity, teachers can engage students into learning new material using items they are already familiar with. This helps to build on knowledge that is already retained in their long term memory making it easier for the new material to move from their short term memory to their long term memory.

Using an artistic approach to encourage memory retention often works even if students do not feel they have artistic abilities. I often have my students recreate the bones of the skull or recreate an atom using modeling clay or styrofoam. Most students enjoy these activities and often ask when we will do similar activities. I keep several examples in my room on display to get the students excited as to what are some upcoming classroom activities.