My online presence as the instructor is critical to the students feeling comfortable with the course.
I use a introduction of each other on the first day of a class on site, but I wil start using the posting of a short bio in the future, I like this wether online or in person.
I believe it is important to get to know students and their idiosyncrasies. But in post-high school, and in trade schools, that information is not generally able to be freely learned. Particularly, among students from a common area, who are likely to become competitors when out in the workforce, such as in the electrical trade. TMI can be a problem, especially where instructors may not have the qualifications necessary to deal with particulars unrelated to the immediate electrical subject/module, or even the electrical trade in general.
I feel the generalities EL102 covers miss the more specific particulars we face as Electrical Instructors preparing our students for the real world, demanding world of working in the electrical field. That is what I feel most qualified to do, and also what my understanding of what PCI hired me to do. I'm seeing students requiring way too much individual instructor input. These are not children, but young adults, certainly of an age to be beyond some of the Mother Robin neediness which detracts from the overall learning environment of all the students.
- Instructors can project their presence in the classroom by introducing yourself.
- Allowing students to introduce themselves.
- Sending group and individual e-mails / messages to students welcoming them and reassuring them of your presence.
Making it personal helps students (and me) feel more connected. Reaching out regularly is important.
As an instructor you need to make clear and maintain the expectation and rules of online just as if they were in class physically. But, you also need to bring the human side to it. To post a "tell me about yourself" not only shows how we are all from different areas and backgrounds, it shows just how much we may have in common as well. Students are also more likely to ask for help with something if they feel comfortable and connected.
I have learned that it is important to be more personable to students and to provide biographical information,
reaching out to the students and connecting with them to let them know that I'm there for them .There are no stupid question there is always a way to get the message across and putting up a bio of my credentials and interests will let them know that I am human and have other interests outside of my field
Students need to have faith in their professor in an online environment. We establish this faith with our biographies (creditionals), participation in synchronous/asynchronous discussion, our availability via email and office hours, and with by initiating contact with students that may need special assistant. All of these aspects are neccessary for the student to feel comfortable that a real, qualified, and compassionate person is leading their learning experience.
Matt Wilkerson
This creates a more personal approach to the relationship established with your students.
Online teaching and learning are very complex entities. One way to ensure success on both sides is to be open and communicative. Establising an open line of communication wil greatly facilitate the learning environment.
The welcome message with a short bio and picture was an idea I may wish to integrate in future. I had been doing the welcome message, but no bio
Instructor and students should know each other from the very first day. Instuctor must provide a guideline to students regarding posting material on the discussion board. Instructor must project and his/her presenece from a distance and also maintain his/her authority.
It is important to get to know your students. I plan to use the example about having students post a short biography so everyone can learn about every student. I will also post a short biography so they can learn about me.
I never really thought about the projection of your authority from afar while online, but it makes sence. To facilitate sharing, opening up and influencing students.
Creating a relationship with students, even though it may be only online, is still as important for an online course as it is for an in-person course.
Introduction of each person to develop a personal relationship with each student is a crucial part of the online learning. On line presencce is important to maintain authority and to make students feel like someone is there to assist them in this environment. This is easily done through an on line presence and clear expectations.
It is important to share a biography to students because they are entitled to your accreditation, experiences, and qualifications to teach the course. it also allows them to learn more about the instructor that they can use to initiate conversation with the instructor
In our new CMS I plan on making a bio clip of me with the printable narration page available. I'll have the other culinary instructors do the same for their classes.
I like the idea of having the students write an extended bio to share with the other members of the class We do that now but there were a few prompts for thte students to get them writing that I found helpful.
I also just saved a MODEL nutrition project I shared with the other class members. Good idea and I'll get more examples for when we have a our written projects.
I really liked the portion of how your studetns get to know you, and how to get insight of what they expect from you.
