Adding a Dimension of Personability to Your Course
I feel that the more detail an online course is the better chance that you as the instructor has to add your personability to your course. Instead of the course just being BC100 or whatever it is called, it then becomes Mr. or Mrs. So and So's class. The same passion you have teaching something onsite can be portrayed online when you are able to reach out to your students and meet their educational needs.
Jacqueline,
I hope that we do draw upon our life experiences for the students. You cannot always find that information in a book!
Shelly Crider
Jacqueline,
I agree.....how can we expect good posts from our students if we are not a good role model?
Shelly Crider
Our Posts should engage the student so that they want to go to the Discussion area in order to get resources ideas and communicate openly with others and thus show "us" their personality as well.
Our day to day work environment gives the seasoned instructor many tools to use when teaching online classes. We have the advantage of drawing upon our work experience to use as examples for almost any discussion topic. This will engage the student if they are aware that our points in the discussion are "real life" examples.
Jacqueline Bloink
UMA Adjunct AND Director of Compliance for AZ Community Physicians
Frances,
Especially in the announcement area. This is a perfect place to personalize.
Shelly Crider
I agree Rathin. In addition to posting informative and engaging discussion postings, I like using the announcement area on the front page of the class. I wish we had more text and graphic functionality in the announcement area.
I feel it is very important for the instructor to be able to add personal elements so that students feel more comfortable in the online learning environment. A while back, we had more functionality in how we designed our Announcements on the front page of our classes. We could highlight text and use different colors in the text so that we could be more creative and engaging in our Announcements to our students. Now much of that functionality has been eliminated. I would love to see it restored as one more way instructors can "customize" their announcements in a more personal way.
Shari,
This is a great post and testimony for live chat! You do have to love Adobe Connect!! Great job!
Shelly Crider
This is definitely true! By having a weekly live chat through Adobe Connect, I can let my passion show. Students who have not done well in the class before, and then had me for an instructor, have come away with a new respect for the material, and some students who need to repeat the class have specifically asked for me. I try to project as much personality as I can into what can be a very cold environment to make it warm and friendly. With students like this, I think I am succeeding!
Tylana,
This is an awesome example! Thank you for sharing!!
Shelly Crider
Tylana,
Good point. We want our students to be able to be critical thinkers...instructors must show them how it is done!
Shelly Crider
This is encouraged in our learning environments. I can tell you that in my experience, students appreciate the personal attention. They know you recognize them as individuals and feel more socially connected to the class.
Your post reminded me of the vital importance of balancing professionalism with personableness. It is important to maintain a structured and reliable learning environment, but still remain approachable and flexible. An occasional break from the routine can re-energize students.
Integrating tasteful humor can certainly be an effective tool. By viewing or interpreting an instructor as a unique individual, students may become less anxious and more comfortable sharing and participating in class.
In more relaxed terms, students want to connect on a human level, even if it is through the Internet medium. We may have different ways of interacting, but some of the core needs of students still include encouragement and polite feedback.
I recently encountered a student who was very discouraged after receiving several very low scores. The student just needed personal attention and some positive feedback to make necessary adjustments. When the student sensed through my communication that I truly did care, her efforts improved. I believed in her ability and then she, in turn, believed in herself. She successfully completed the course and met her goals. Sometimes our personalities and thoughtful ways of interacting do make the difference, even if we are not aware of it.
I believe it is very important to critically think about our how our communications are perceived by students. If students sense an instructor's unique passion for his or her field of expertise, they may be curious to learn more about the relevant course concepts.
Our personalities can project a sense of caring or a sense of indifference. While it is not necessarily a teacher's job to entertain students, a positive tone and a stimulating environment may improve student engagement and foster success. A continual process of personal assessment is required to achieve the best outcomes in this endeavor.
Nicholas,
Feedback is important for everyone in the workforce, so it is definitely important in the academic arena as well!
Shelly Crider
Kevin,
I love your number 1.....using a student's name is oh so important. It definitely leads to ownership.
Shelly Crider
Hi Pyllis,
This is a concept that I have seen attempted at some online universities. On the surface it seems to have merit and from the instructor perspective, anything that can be done to ensure that students are engaged in the classroom is positive. It would seem that personalizing the course would accomplish that. Based on my observations, universities that four or five years ago attempted to personalize the classroom have changed their philosophy or perhaps they are no longer encouraging faculty to significantly add their personality to the course.
Nelson
Nelson Stewart, PhD
I think those are great tips. I have also found that using good web links and images (particularly comics) that apply the content to interesting topics do wonders with getting students engaged at the same time as allowing for personality and humor.
I agree. It is a hard balance between providing personality through biography and images in the classroom and making sure the content gets across in a simple to understand manner. The discussion posts and feedback are also key parts since they are the main source of conversation between the student and instructor. The tone and content of the messages need to match that of the classroom or otherwise a well design and decorated room will fall flat when the content is not approached in the same manner.
