As an online instructor, discuss two basic steps you would take to ensure your course on an LMS is accessible to all students.

What are devices such as touchscreens, pointers and joysticks called?

What is one speech recognition software that is used by many people with or without a disability?

What is one of the first places that an online instructor should go for help in making their course materials accessible?

What are some examples of disabilities covered under the ADA?

As an online instructor, how would you work with the Office of Disability Services?

As an online instructor how would you assess if the rights of a student with disabilities were being violated?

As an online instructor, how would you assist students with disabilities to make the transition to post-secondary education?

As an online instructor, what are some best practices you have developed to ensure your course is accessible to all students?

As an online instructor, what would you do to assist students with cognitive disabilities?

As an online instructor, what assignments might you avoid if you have students with visual impairments?

As an online instructor, what assistive technologies do you have available to assist students with disabilities?

Do instructors still blog? It seems like FB and Twitter would make more sense today. Thoughts?

Blogging is OK if used with students who can effectively read and write in English. Many of my students come from a diverse background. For some, English is their second language, while others lack academic preparedness and possess very basic levels of communication skills. These students may not be able to effectively blog.

Microblogging is a time consuming venture for the professors as close monitoring of the quality and accuracy of the posts is required. For example in science course, the information has to be correct. Thus, the instructor must carefully monitor the microblog for accuracy and make corrections as necessary.

How does the instructor monitor quality sources. Too many social media sites exist in order for the instructor to monitor each one. What are some mechanisms for monitoring the quality and reliability of a site?

Should the student have a certain amount of reading and writing skills before the online class begins? Should the instructor from any background teach a student reading and writing skills, on top of course material? Please share your thoughts with me on this?

Hi, When I am interacting with students in a discussion forum or posting my evaluative comments in their gradebook I work very hard to give them individualized feedback and to extend their learning. My quandry is that I tend to be more expansive when concentrating on making connections and yet I also want very much to convey a few key points that are not lost in a lengthier discourse. I am still working on creating that fine line between personalized and thoughtful content and ensuring that the recipient will take away my key ideas and suggestions. Do any of you have any wisdom to share regarding this topic? Laura Smythe

In our current educational environment, I have come to notice more policies that push the students through school as opposed to motivating them. How can you motivate the student, without feeling like you are pushing them through? If the students are not enganged with many different efforts and avenues utilized, what is the next step? Thank you for your thoughts and responses.

I've found (and I'm sure you can relate to this) that with the online instruction mode the mix of student demographics creates a problem when presenting materials and discussion. My "solution" is to break the online "chat" demonstration/lecture into "chunks" (segments), where I will cater to each age group so that it keeps them from becoming easily bored. I also host a weekly "workshop" where students can attend if they have any specific issues that need handling, and in each case I can then gear the discussion to the appropriate level. This seems to work well, although certainly not perfect, it has improved attendance to the chats. Has anyone had similar issues and experiences?