luisa torres

Focus on relationships first. Relationships are the most important element of any learning format, but they are especially critical when students are online, because students can feel disconnected from the course and isolated from each other if they are not tended to.

Being present in your online class is not only about good practice and supporting student learning and engagement.  Instructor presence and communication is what makes the difference between a class being categorized as a distance education class v/s a correspondence course. Being actively involved in your online class will promote student success. While online classes provide students with more flexibility and new ways to collaborate, success in the online environment is directly related to how present and engaged the instructor is in the virtual classroom. 

As an online instructor, I love that the Central Management System gives the student an opportunity to explore so many key aspects of this discipline--exposing them to main theories, key concepts, and to me, the most exciting: central questions. I like to provide a comfortable online environment for the students to explore the challenging questions that will arise, pushing their boundaries and intellectually piquing your interest. I encourage them to share and reflect upon their own experiences in their personal and professional lives to make connections to the online classroom discussions. I believe this is how the best learning takes place!