Being an Example
How do you model good communication that works in your favor regarding workload?
I find that frequent posts to the Discussion Board, email and Announcements is entirely less stressful and is better for communication than trying to cram more communications into more separated sections. It reduced my workload during unexpected times when I receive a great deal of inbound communication from students.
I actually have only had one visit during my office hours, but I still post and hold them. My students tend to e-mail me through the LMS and I get a notification right away so I can respond quickly. The only time I got a visit during office hours was because the student happened to be online and had a question so they came in. I do agree it is good to continue to give them the option.
Dr. Crews,
I make it a point to always be the first in the threaded discussion. I try to set the tone and model what is expected. This helps get the students moving forward and I do not have to work at getting them involved as much.
I also model how they are to interact in the threads. I post professionally and include scholarly resources by citing and referencing in correct APA 6th edition format. This helps the students to know what is expected and saves me time in correcting errors and providing so much corrective feedback. The more the students see what is expected the easier my work is and I think the students do better.
Joe,
Professionalism is an essential skill. Students should be aware of the importance of being professional.
Thanks!
Sarah,
Instructors vary on how they prefer students to connect with them. I don't use the phone much to talk, but I do text and use the discussion board a lot. Thanks!
I model the formal register I prefer in school emails. I want the students to be professional in their text and mechanics. As they prepare to be in the industry it is important to be able to communicate effectively in written form.
For my students I really encourage them to email or call me. I would rather them call because I believe that by actually speaking with on the phone they will be able to get all of their questions out and answered. Sometimes the process takes longer however they get the clarification that they need to complete the task at hand.
Victor,
I use Adobe Connect to have "live" office hours just in case a students wants to "see" me online. It works well. Thanks for your input.
I don't have office hour visits either, students either text, call or email me when it's convenient for them. I'm not sure why there are office hours since no one uses them. They're required by the school, though. Students have my cell phone number and I find that many like to text. I don't receive many though, so it isn't overwhelming.
Kerstin,
Excellent point! We can talk faster than we can type. Thanks for the pointer. Nice job.
Google voice has been an excellent tool for me personally. I utilize it in particular for texting. A lot of my students will not respond to phone calls or e-mails in a timely manner, however they are very quick to respond back and forth to texting. I have my Google number forwarded to my personal cell phone and an able to both quickly reach out to students as well as quickly respond to them via text.
In addition, I have found that utilizing the dictation option on my MacBook allows me to quickly give rich substantive feedback in grading comments, as well as easily and quickly provide e-mails when more detailed information is needed than can easily be given via texting. It speeds up my communication process, which helps me with time management. In fact, I'm dictating this post right now! :-)
I still do reach out with phone calls frequently, but I'm finding that being comfortable texting helps me connect to many of my Y-Gen and Millennial students better.
Virginia,
This has been fixed. Thank you for your post. I think originally the question was which of the following is NOT. . .but we changed "NOTS" but I must have forgotten to change the answers. My bad. Thank you again.
Lisa,
Excellent. You are obviously communicating the expectations clearly and in a variety of ways. This will help students move toward the course objectives. Nice job.
I provide clear and effective rubrics and direct students to them before a project has been started. In live and recorded videos, I go over the exact terms of each assignment and reinforce published class policies.
Stephanie and Robert,
So, why continue to have them? Just wondering.
Thanks for your input.
I have to agree with you Robert that I do not get many visits during the office hours that I have on the weekend.
Quiz 3, I think discussion boards are certainly a type of communication, no?
2
Marks: 0/5
Which of the following is a type of communication in an online course?
Answer:
A) Chatting
B) Discussion boards
C) Student-to-content
D) Asynchronous communication
Feedback
Student-Content: Students will read, view, and listen to books, articles, videos, and recordings provided as part of the course content.
Please review this item, Thanks Virginia
Faith,
The welcome email can certainly set the tone for the course. I have not used Eyejot, but have used Jing and Screencast. They are wonderful tools. Thanks for your input.
I model good communication with my students by sending out a Welcome email at the start of class. In the email, I am careful to use positive verbiage. I give them my contact information and live office hours. I strongly suggest that they post questions to the FAQ or Coffee Shop area. I also recommend that they attend the live lectures. Attending these allows them to ask questions live.
I also use Eyejot and Screencast videos to give clarification on class assignments.
When grading assignments and giving feedback to individual students, I use a Word Document with saved comments that I can refer to. Often times many students will have the same issue like spelling or grammar errors. I can use a pre-created comment to help give constructive feedback. This saves a lot of time!
