The 2 most important things to consider are:
1. The patterns of communication must be written in a easy to understand language for all students. If they are not easy to understand and long, students may not bother reading them at all. This will cause them to not follow the communication patterns.
2.The consequences of not following the pattern should be clearly spelled out so there is no ambiguity.
James,
Like your idea of a "generic" pattern of communication. As long as the instructor clear, consistent and as you say. . .the instructor must be still at the appropriate point. Nice job.
I believe that developing a "generic" pattern of communication is important. This pattern should be easy to understand, contain nothing but the facts and be short and sweet. Eveyone has an opinion and by golly that's great but as an instructor in an online environment, you have to know when to be still.
Donielle,
Serving as a role model for students is why we lead by example. What better way to help students "follow the leader." Thanks!
Karen,
We do want our students to feel connected and engaged. When we are supportive and timely in our communication, students will know we are there for them and they will feel more comfortable communicating back. Thanks!
When establishing a pattern of communication the two most important things to consider would be being supportive and dependable. Students in online environments need to feel connected. To help provide a connection the instructor needs to be supportive of the student, making sure they are clear on expectation and communicating improvements that help the student want to achieve rather than making the student feel that they are incapable. Secondly, the communication needs to be dependable. Students should be able to expect that their communication will be responded to in a timely and efficient manner.
Leading by example allows students to have confidence to know that the leader has been successful and this creates a sense of comfort level that students will be successful tool
Tina ,
Good communication comes through good modeling. You are right. Therefore, providing good examples and making sure students understand the expectations is key. Thanks!
A good pattern of communication would be one that provides examples for what and how some communication should be formatted. In other words, the expections of how the information should be more effectively communicated. This would align with an announcement that explains how a participation reply should be formatted.
Providing sound feedback allows for communication to easily flow. The feedback can provide important information on content that was not clearly presented initially.
Tina Means
Khal,
When you serve as a good role model, the students benefit greatly. The rubrics will help with details as well. Thanks.
Dr. Crews,
In my opinion, when establishing a pattern of communication, I believe that the two most important things to consider are:
1. To model the types of effective communication in order to let the students know which types of communication are expected of them.
2. To establish a detailed rubric to provide an effective pattern at the beginning of the course.
Kenneth,
These two items have come up a lot when discussing a pattern of communication. They can't be emphasized enough. The are essential elements. Thank you.
When establishing a pattern of communications, I believe the two most important issues are:
1) consistency and
2) frequency.
Students are more comfortable when they are familiar with the preferred communication pattern for the class. They will be more willing to communicate their ideas and get more involved in the course. I also believe that frequency is critical because each instructor may have different frequency patterns and it is helpful if students can anticipate when they can expect communications for the instructor or from fellow students.
Ken Burger
Willie ,
The consistency you discuss about starting each module/week the same way, the welcome letter, etc. are all excellent in establishing that pattern of communication. Thanks!
Jacqueline,
Another good "C" word. Let's keep building on these words. Thanks for your addition.
Take care.
Jacqueline,
As you noted, we have to think about all of the communications (I2S, S2I, and S2S). It's important to keep the communication flowing to help all students. Nice job.
Willie ,
Providing examples can be very helpful for many students. They serve as a model for others to follow.
Thanks for your input!
Elizabeth, I, too, believe that communication must be clear and consistent throughout the course. I posted some examples of how I do this. :-)
As a faculty we ware responsible for establishing and communicating our course pace and pattern. It is important that us use a CLEAR and CONSISTENT approach throughout the course. These are the tips that I follow:
1. Begin each week or module in the same way (Students, welcome to week XX. Last week you did such-and-such. This week you will move to the next logical step in this process…â€).
2. Start with a Welcome Letter (Welcome to English Comp I. I am your instructor. My name is XXXXXXX. I have been facilitating online for XXX years…â€).
3. Use a course schedule to communicate important due dates.
4. Use announcements or email to inform students of unexpected changes or to communicate weekly deadlines.
Hi Kathleen and Dr. Crews:
I would like to add courtesy and completeness to the "C" words.
Courtesy is important. For example, in a team project if there is an urgency with the project that a student needs to convey to the remainder of the group, he/she should keep in mind the overall tone approach and be professional.
Jackie
