Biographies Exercise
I really liked the idea of having students create their own bios as a first assignment. It starts them out with an easy assignment to get started with high marks and it allows them to get to know each other and allows me to get to know them. I was thinking this would also work in my on-campus courses as well. Especially my Intro courses where the students are generally new to the school.
While I personally like the practice of students posting their biographies and I post a personalized response to each one, I seriously wonder if the students actually read the responses I post and it often seems like a futile task, even when students are required to respond to other students, which they do.
In the hundreds of classes I have taught I have rarely had a student respond to my post in response to their biography and it makes me wonder why I am doing this. I send bulk welcome emails (which actually seem to generate more responses than my bio response posts) and post welcome announcements as well. Any thoughts on this?
Donnie
Jacob,
This is a very good community building exercise.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Having students create and post biographies is particularly effective in a group project setting where collaboration is necessary. Students typically find this useful to relate to one another virtually. It also helps to get the students engaged early in the group project area/forum.
Christine,
Very creative. I like your approach to the 'relevancy' issue. Terrific.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Asking students to write an autobiography is a very good idea to "break the ice". I think knowing some simple things about the students such as their geographical location and maybe online education experience will give me an idea on how to facilitate the course better. Also, since I teach math, it would be good to ask them to read online on how they can use math in their field. Hopefully, this will help them get motivated on their first day.
Patrice,
Thank you for your kind response and your helpful contribution to the forum.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
No problem. I feel that that use of a nickname with a student creates a closer connection in the instructor/student relationship. Thanks for your response, and have a great day!
Patrice,
I greatly appreciate your extra effort to use the student's nickname in class exchanges. Great way to establish and maitain a solid rapport. Very nice. Thanks for sharing your insights.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I agree that student biographies are a great way to introduce an online course. It familiarizes the students with each other, as well as the instructor and student.
A feature that I like to utilize when asking students for a biography is the issue of the student's nickname. If a student states that they go by a nickname in their bio, I use that name throughout the session. When approaching the student in live chat sessions or in constructive grade feedback, utilizing a student's nickname provides the feeling of a more familiarizing, more geniune interaction between instructor and student.
The idea of making student biographies a graded assignment and not just a suggestion or preference is wonderful. Once it becomes a requirement, it is more likely to get done!
Kathy,
This has been a terrific exercise for creating those 'humanizing' bonds that enhance engagement within many online classrooms. As you so correctly pointed out, this also has a tremendous possibility of minimizing incorrect assumptions in some online classroom exchanges. As it would provide additional background for better understanding of an individual student's interactions within the class.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I really was excited to read about this technique which I definitely plan to employ. The reason being, I made a judgment call about a student at the beginning of the class and later when I got to know that student found out I was completely wrong and had I utilized the bio assignment that would not have been the case. I also think it gets students to open up about themselves and become more familiar, also, with each other.
Lauren,
You are right. This is an excellent engagement tool in either setting.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
