I have found while teaching in the online environment that many students underestimate the amount of time an assignment will take to complete, especially within the first few weeks of a course. I try to offer time guidelines for the different assignments as well as reminders for them to get started. Many students think assignments may not take them too long but soon are faced with reality. Usually after the first few weeks they figure out a schedule and routine that works for them. Jean

As students are participating in an online environment, they need to be aware of the proper way to communicate with the instructor as well as their classmates. The classroom setting requires a more professional language than when communicating with friends. It is amazing to me but many students are not familiar with the effective ways to communicate in an email or in the discussion boards. I have found myself providing the necessary guidelines (online etiquette)at the beginning of my classes as well as offering reminders throughout the course. I have received several emails from students in all caps and I have to explain why this isn't appropriate. The online environment may be a new experience and the students need to learn how to communicate effectively.

I have been teaching online classes for several years and it doesn't matter if it is the students first college course or students taking courses in a graduate program, time management is always a challenge. I make it a point during the first week of class to discuss time management and offer different strategies that can be of benefit including the course assignment schedule with due dates. I also post weekly announcements stating the different assignments that are due along with the actual due date as well as reminders as the due dates gets closer. I offer sample schedules and actually have them complete one for the upcoming week. This makes them account for everything that happens in their daily lives - eating, showering, traveling, work, school work, house cleaning, chores, sleeping, other priorities along with scheduling time for themselves to relax and have fun. I also emphasize how much time they should be devoting to course work whether it be reading or actually completing assignments. I encourage them to set up a routine where they work a little bit each day rather than trying to complete everything in a few days. I send reminder emails and announcements regarding assignments to serve as a gentle push. Time management is essential for the online student. Once a student falls behind, it is challenging to get caught up because most online courses move quickly and require a good amount of work to be completed. Falling behind can be very overwhelming and this is why time management skills are so important. Jean

Synchronous tools are important aspects to enhance students learning and comprehension. Using the tool call "join.me" is a valuable asset to the LMS. This application allow the instructor to gain access to the student browsers. This comes in handy when instructor need to help student navigate their Blackboard or LMS. IE... showing student how to use the drop box.

To help student improved reading, writing and communication skills, I encourage students to read as many books, blogs, journal and articles as often as they can. The more one read,the better they become at producing a great work of literature. Proofreading in front of a peer review is the best way to complete a paper. Reading out aloud is one other technique to fix errors. Also, I mention to students that to correct grammatical errors on essays, try reading the essay starting from the ending sentences to the first sentence of the essay.

Is important for all online instructors to understand what flaming is and how to handle this within the online classroom. Flaming is a hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users, often involving the use of profanity.

One aspect of the double edged sword of technological communication can be its anonymity. Anonymity is positive in some aspects- such as reducing self-consciousness when asking questions. However, anonymity can reduce social constraints that prevent some people from acting out inappropriately toward others.

I'm curious about what people think about the pros and cons of allowing a class blog to be public. I have never used blogging as part of one of my classes before, but other colleagues have, and made them public. They were excited that people who the students were writing about found the blog and commented on it. Perhaps because I have never done this before, there is something intimidating about a blog being linked to my name (a course that I teach) without me really having control over it. We can give students guidelines, but they may not completely follow them, for example. Do instructors monitor blogs like this and have the ability to remove posts that could be considered plagiarism or netiquette violations?

I have been teaching online for since August of 2012. During this period I continue to evolve and use different strategies to get to know my student. I found out that while there is no “on size fit all” in the online environment a combination of strategies will yield maximum result. My first line of contact is to send out my “Instructor’s Introductory Email” on the Sunday evening before the class starts. Despite doing this religiously, I learnt that not every student reads the email, so my conservative expectation is to get about 30-40% of my student to take a peek. During the first week of class I called each of my student and here again my expectation is speak to about 30-40% of my student, those I am unable to get in touch with will receive a voice mail from me if that option is available, and finally, a text is sent to all of my student that has a cell phone listed. I think the Online Learning Environment is very dynamic and as I continue to read my peers postings I am learning new strategies and tips to help the student –my primary objective.

Feeling isolated from the classroom can be the first step in a student drop. A pleasant announcement, a comforting “reach-out” email, or a great story on the discussion board can reignite the learning fire and boost retention. We save students one at a time. Granted, sometimes we don’t know if we’ve done things right as faculty until months later when a graduate sends a ‘thank you’ email telling us so, but we should never underestimate what our words might do for a student who is teetering on the brink of dropping out of school. By heightening the presence of faculty through outreach, interactive methodologies and faculty-student contact in our online student environment, we might stave-off the threat of student drops, maintain and enhance retention and add value to both internal and external marketing missions. As competition heats up in the online educational universe, the time is now to gain market share based on sound customer service and forward-looking strategies.

FOCUS ON THE NEGATIVES: TECHNOLOGY We've all gotten emails about students who end up with no working computer, internet cut off due to non-payment, you name it. Some students even start school with no computer and use a public PC, or one at work. While not having internet or a computer may not be the best scenario, we need to come together with the student and find ways that the course tasks can be accomplished. The situation is: the student is in your class and expending funds to be enrolled, so why do we discourage a student who already has some technological strikes against them? Here is an actual email from a faculty member to a student in Class #1 of the AABA program: From: Negative Instructor To: Struggling Student I am surprised that the school is allowing you to begin classes without a computer email me when you submit please Let me translate the email: Student- I have no confidence in you; you are not going to pass the class anyway so you might as well drop out

Interactivity The first step toward a more interactive and animated discussion is faculty members who guide the learning experience. The instructor’s actions and interactions are what drive activity in the classroom. In order to make your job more fulfilling, working with your colleagues and lead faculty to update discussion assignments is something you should consider. Interactive methodologies of faculty-student contact in our online student environment, is a powerful retention tool and can add value to both internal and external marketing missions. As competition heats up in the online educational universe, the time is now to gain market share based on sound customer service and forward-looking strategies.

Working with adults is as much of a science as it is an art. Unlike students in their early 20s, the more mature learner has amassed a repertoire of skills & wisdom commensurate with age. Most often, students in their 50s bring a much different skill set to the classroom than those in their 40s or even 30s. Adults return to school for very different reasons than those who move immediately from the secondary school environment. Adults want to learn. The adult learner is more interested in application that is interdisciplinary in nature and can incorporate the proficiencies they have brought with them. Adults are intrinsically motivated and seek out independence through many avenues including education. Essentially we move the ancient teaching style of Socrates into the cyber age when we seek to guide our adult learners. There has to be application. Study for study’s sake has no place for adult learners. They must take with them at the very least a morsel that will add to their life, be it personal, professional, or even spiritually. Delta Airlines has an innovative Learning division that centers its teaching in action. The idea is to engage the learner in the activity because of the benefits for his/her job. In our classrooms, we usually provide scenarios and activities that our students may see or hope to see in the future. Thus, it is our purpose to coach the student and be sure that s/he appreciates the implications and outcomes of the learning activities so that the motivation within will guide the student to a more advanced level. I have it easy with the APPLICATION stuff! I teach marketing …and unless one of our students lives under a rock (just an old saying), s/he has been attacked by a barrage of marketing & ads since a very early age. I don’t even have to try to get my students think about the class any other way. I insert some hints in the class which leads students to understand the importance of personalizing the material. Every once in a while when a student is in a huge stage of panic, because s/he has not had any experience in the ad or marketing world, that is when I take out the reality magic wand and talk about toys or cereal…BINGO…touched the little kid inside of that student who yelled “Mommy, mommy, mommy, I want that!” I also open each class with a personal touch. Advertising: What is your favorite commercial and why? And Marketing: What brand are you loyal to and how did this happen? By these small exercises at the front end of the class, I have set the stage for the PERSONAL VIEW!

I think it is good practice to create new account in the social media to enhance our learning of this course thanks

Offer the student training on how to use microblog and its implication because they start the class

It is important to check the social media you are forwarding the student to. For example the student may spend time in different topic that the one you intent to focus. At the end the student will waste time and not getting what is required to get

Using the social media means we do not have control on it. What we will do if we spot an abuse through text, pictures, bulling, ...etc

Does anyone feel that there should be word count limits on blogs? Or perhaps this may be relative to the topic taught? ... Something you could incorporate into the course structure...

Hello Everyone, I found an interesting article which states that Social Media is less than six degrees of separation ("5 Studies Prove that Social Medial is less than 6 Degrees of Separation" http://barnraisersllc.com/2012/04/studies-social-media-6-degrees-of-separatio/). Apparently Facebook and Twitter have roughly 4.5 degrees of separation - LinkedIn is 3. Perhaps the difference is the type of social networking. LinkedIn is more of a professional network, while the others are more "social" ... of course, Twitter can be used to promote businesses also. Just curious what everyone thinks? Is the Internet so powerful, that we have indeed become closer than the six degrees of separation?

For the past ten years I have acquired real hours of technology usage. I have taught several courses using technology. With the trainings at my school instructors become more aware of the technologies out there. The students are gurus in their own right, learning and mastering the technologies as they become available. The availability of technology to all of us at our finger tips has become a blessing in our day to day life.