How would you deal with a parent who believes in No screen time (TV, iPad/tablets/phone) for young kids?

There are many pros and cons to this issue.  Educational content vs Advertising and harmful content, Educational games vs Time wasting games, Technical exposure vs no exposure.

What are you personal thoughts and experiences on having no screen time or too much screen time?

As I was pondering how I would apply Color-Full communication with my online students, I realized that the Discussions & Feedback would be the primary areas of communication to update in my classroom.

Then I realized that a simple solution that could easily be implemented would be:

Provide a simple reminder that the assigned discussion or class work could be completed & turned in anytime during the week and could be completed with via their laptop or smart phone (ORANGE).

Next, encourage the student to share or elaborate on the discussion topic with their own personal story & possibly share a personal story of my own on the topic at hand (BLUE).

And last, call on students to google or research or share additional details on the topic (GREEN).

Hmmmmm...... Not sure how I would engage the GOLD students.   Does anyone have any ideas?

What techniques have you used to deal with pracrastinators; particularly those who continually miss deadlines and seem to be only concerned about getting a passing grade.  Grade penalties for late submission do not seem to work.  

Engagement is crucial to keeping the student interested in the course and the content of the course.  If we as instructors do not create an environment that is inviting and interesting to the student; then they will fail to be present in the course and fail to complete assignments.   

It's difficult for students to open up when they have a disablity. Often times they go through life trying to compensate for the disalbity and cover it up as much as possible. How do we get students to be more forthcoming? 

I enjoyed learning about the True Colors personality profiling system as that was new information to me.

I plan on using the idea of asking questions on the Introduction/Ice Breakers Discussion boards that would lead me to understand the personality colors of the students.  Good information to know as we progress through the course.

I especially enjoyed reading design for all types of personalites. I can see many of the personalities in my class. I find many of the online students are introvert, only a few will show to be extroverts. Perhaps this is a promenant personality type for online students. 

This training will continue to help me throughout my teaching career as I will be more prepared to help students.

When I taught on campus students used a CD to practice medical terminology. I used a projecor to show what the questions were asking. Students were very engaged in this "game" and would shout out answers as they competed with each other. 

This exercise had a two fold effect, students learned medical terms AND also formed teams. 

Marie

I have students from another part of the world and ask for an instructor who speaks Spanish or other language. How does one deal with students who lack English communication?

I think it starts from the first time the student is submitting work.  I would send the student an email pointing out these discrepencies.  Also I would reinforce the importance of correct grammer in the professional field.

~Sarah

it is very important to know about the obligations and legal responsibilities under U.S. federal law in regards to assisting students with disabilities to help them be succeessful in the online learning environment. 

we often think of online schools and traditional schools as being perfectly separated and that technology is an exclusive tool of the rising online trend, yet it is my opinion that there is an important transition to be made from one style to the other, and I suspect that there may even be more room for mergers between the styles than for transitions from one to the next, food for thought!

Games encourage us to engage with each other (virtual or face / face) and learn concepts in a fun way!  

Online resources are available for almost every subject matter.

For Healthcare Classes... there are Flash Card Design, Scrabble, Hang Man, etc.  

We just need to put in the effort to engage and have fun along with the student in a new way to educate and learn!

Here is a good website:  http://smili.stanford.edu/interactive-learning/activity.html

Jacqueline

I use the simulation in my business classes and it has been an excellent learning tool for students. Requires time and dedication but works. I recommend it

Based on my experience as an online instructor I find that building effective communication and establishing a good rapport with my students’ are critical to their success as online learners. The more comfortable students feel, the better they will contribute and engage in class.

Hi all,

I teach math and critical thinking and have never considered using social networking in my classes. Does anyone have experience in this area? If so, what have you tried and how did it work?

How many have tried the web based interaction with student to give that human touch and see a positive response and improved retention outcomes?

Versus sticking to the chat, discussion post, emails, etc .. for relationship building

Nowadays, the utmost requirement is to keep the student engaged and motovaetd as well. Since life can be very lonely online, teacher interaction with constant motivation would actually be very helpful for the student, sometimes more than in the actual class room for certain students.

I like the fact that the Instructors self-analysis is just as important as the student's.

Etta Rahming

I believe that time will tell if students are learning from our online Discussion topics.  I believe that moving to an established Social Media tool like Facebook for discussions is out of policy for most schools, so we will continue with the 'in-house' secure discussions for years to come.   

What I am wondering is, once everyone becomes familiar with the online WRITTEN discussions, will we see more of the VERBAL video discussions?  It does seem that our students need to gain more skill & knowledge of how to present themselves with VERBAL communication.   However, a video & photograph of oneself online is a step beyond privacy.

Do you think we will see more VERBAL video discussions in our online classrooms?