I have found the Rubric at times to be a double edged sword where as it can gives structure to quantitative feedback, but for those students who are detailed savvy, the rubric may not be detailed enough to satisfy those students who may want more granularity in the grading process.

One lesson I have learned is never engage an (on-line) student immediately after he/she has done something antagonistic in front of the class. All it takes is on bad episode to spiral out of control as from a on-line facilitation perspective, it is extremely tough to put the genie back in the bottle again :-) My recommendation (if this occurs in an online class): (1) Whatever response you make, ensure you had ample time to think about both the content and medium (2) Go private - Resist the temptation to let everyone know who is the boss

I'm not so sure one needs a protocol or standards of communication excellence if one just uses common sense and courtesy. If one can virtually imagine that person being face to face, a lot of the illicit communications behavior would naturally fade away.

This first module has opened up my eyes with regards to facititators choosing the correct communications media to interact with their students. We tend to overuse email and not stress other more intimate means of communicating with students.

I can see that using blogs for proper writing, collaborating, discussions, etc can be quite useful for a blog. Now days, most professional writers are encouraged to have blogs. Blogs though should be written properly and using appropriate grammar and punctuation, spelling, etc. Otherwise, it just becomes a jumble of someone's ideas that may or may not have any educational value.

There are students who have difficulty using the computer just on a day to day basis, much less using twitter or other type outlets. I fear that if we depend on technology too much and rely so heavily on social media, then we are losing much of the face to face interpersonal communication that is much more valuable than twitting.

One problem I have had in an online course was having all my content pulled because we were utilizing videos from youtube. The clips were not that long, and involved film clips for a film class...how can you teach film if you don't look at film. Even uploading the QT file that came with the book became an issue, so I am surprised that youtube videos would be considered as a viable teaching tool.

Good Evening, I'm curious if anyone has used this type of format as an opportunity to teach students about how they appear online and how to present themselves knowing that it is often a tool used by hiring managers to research and find out what kind of person you are and the activities you take part in? I find myself telling students to update their email addresses to something more professional and I see the profile pictures that they upload to the school's site...yikes. I look forward to everyone's thoughts! Kim

What are some of the challenges in assessing media and sharing in an online environment (or f2f environment)?

My experience as a professor has not so much been inappropriate communication between students; however, I've had a few incidents of inappropriate student to instructor communication. For the most part, the students were upset regarding the grades that the students earned (emphasis on "earned") for any given assignment. One student was referred to student services due to a record of belligerent communication with various professors. However, another student, over the course of the semester, became increasingly aggressive to the point of belligerent communication once this student noticed that I grade work rather than effort. I actually ignored the student's communication because I clearly could not communicate to the point of resolution due to the student's mindset. Once the student realized that I do not tolerate this type of behavior, the student relented and I was able to sternly yet constructively communicate to the student why the grades were such. Needless to say, this resolved the issue, and we were able to move through the remainder of the class without incident. I am sure this does not work in every instance, but we must be open to different approaches. Time, touch, and tone is vital.

I think that online students underestimate the amount of time needed to complete a course. Then they begin to panic and catch up in the end.

During my tenure in online teaching, I have found that there are various reasons why a combination of communication tools should be used in a class. E-mail is "king", particularly in a asynchronous setting. However, other tools are needful in general, but not effective for the student. For example, I may have a single mother of 3 who works full-time while taking 2 classes online. The use of teleconference may not work well due to the massive amount of responsibility she must shoulder alone while advancing her career. However, she may be an avid e-mailer based on her schedule. I've also had a student wherein English was not their first or most fluent language. This particular student had difficulty typing, and only preferred to do so if necessary. However, the student frequently used our VoIP site with me to discuss issues in the class. We must be flexible and consider the needs of the students first, and how it works together in the class to meet the course objectives.

Is there a place for both discussion boards and blogs in an online class? Seems to me that one cancels the other out. I use discussion boards in my online classes and require students to post an initial thread, then respond in a meaningful way to at least two other students' posts. These postings are graded. Since I can attach videos, links and other ancillary material to discussion board postings, what's the value of a blog? Is it the world-wide exposure? Or something else?

I find that students underestimate the importance of engaging with me as well as the other students in the course. They will not respond to calls or emails... maybe as a way to avoid the truth. Being able to get them on the phone or engaged through email is really important and the students need to realize it's just as important for them to engage as it is for the instructor to engage with them.

Assuming Blogs are free is kind of naive. First of all there is the cost of a computer and internet access. Obviously this course is geared toward online classes but what if a student is using a public computer like in a library. Making ones own blog might not be allowed.

Unless a school allows me to officially use twitter am I able to actually use it to update students? Isn't that limiting my updates to only those who are able to afford devices that can access Twitter?

The definition proposed by this course of what social commentary is in correct. Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace about a given problem and appealing to people's sense of justice. What you have described is the ability to comment on or about social media posts. Not social commentary.

The end of school networks and systems like MaxKnowledge is coming. New programs should embrace already large social networks. Rather than make their own lounge and such it should be using something like facebook as its lounge.

As I continue to learn what it means to truly be the best online instructor, I am also learning what it takes for the students as well. These are some of the things that I will take back to my class. If I put this message out in the beginning I think it will encourage my students to greatness. In the end isn't that what I want.

I have found that when using technology you must know your audience. I have so many students that respond well to emails. But there are some students who I believe do better in group forum and are more eager to participate with open group lines of communication.