Lonely Chat Sessions
Hi
I have been teaching online now for 11 years. In that time I have had many a night when I was the only person in the chat room since attendance at my school is not mandatory. I always wait about ten minutes and then I start the session regardless of anyone being there or not. To be honest, I don’t always act enthusiastic or my voice may get a little monotone just going through my script.
My question is, does anyone have a way to lively up the session so that when students go to the archives they aren’t bored and turn it off?
Bill Becker
Hilda,
You can add a discussion about the muddiest point in class for that week, or an ethical question, or a current event. This will not make all of them show, but you might get some!
Shelly Crider
In the beginning of the term I get a few students who attend regularly, and then fewer students appear as the weeks go by, and finally towards the end no one shows up at all.
Bill,
I know what you mean as I have hours of conversations with myself. Sometimes I ask questions and respond myself.
To avoid from getting bored, I will throw in a video every now and then. I turn off the sound and do the narration myself. Since I teach science, I find that this works well when I explain photosynthesis or cellular respiration. I will also have demonstrations where I am drawing on the whiteboard. I have found that if I am actively doing something aside from just talking, I am more engaged in the chat session even in the absence of students.
Sarah,
Do you stay in your classroom for an hour to wait for students to appear?? I think if you post you will be in chat room at 7pm then at 7:15pm if nobody is there.....you could post announcement that you were there and missed them.
Shelly Crider
I am frequently all alone as well! However, we are instructed NOT to record our sessions. So, do I just sit there for an hour and wait and listen for someone to show up or do you think there should be a time limit...
I agree with many of the responses, maybe you can add a little humor. Also I have made my family suffer through many scripts. If it is not mandatory maybe it should be considered to make it that.
Yes very often I have nobody attend mine. For an online class I do not feel they are needed but many schools require them.
Hi Bill, thanks for your question. I have come across the same situation. The way I resolve this is by having a solid PowerPoint presentation to work through while I am presenting. Also I have a large archive of bookmarked links to interesting websites as well as tutorials. I present the Chat as if students are present. From teaching the same course multiple times I know what questions are usually prevalent within a certain section of the course. I weave all these elements together and I can really get in to it that way. In a sense I like to present by myself because I don't get sidetracked by comments from the students and having to check in with them. I prefer interaction of course but presenting alone can really create the opportunity to present a solid block of content, spiced up with cool websites, professional examples, interesting tutorials and even youtube videos. I hope that helps ::)
Bill
I have the same situation - most of my classes are 3-4 students and also not mandatory. However, we have a policy that the live chat only needs to be 20 minutes if no students. This helps to keep me enthusiastic versus dragging things out an hour.
Another way...teach to your dog, wife or kids during that hour...
William,
You can always add a little humor or a link to something new or exciting. This makes students want to participate!
Shelly Crider
