Judy,
Just like parenting - good analogy.
Thanks for your input.
The first criteria of establishing a pattern of communication is to develop guidelines on what is considered appropriate and not appropriate and then being a model of that standard. One of my greatest struggles when communicating with students is conveying tone. This is especially true during occasions where issues have escalated and a student has become confrontational or argumentative. There are times when after drafting an email, I literally need to read the message out loud to myself before sending. Sometimes I will even have a third party look it over and offer suggestions in the event that there is a statement that is less than professional. Also, and just as importantly, setting the standard by checking over all messages for the proper greeting, punctuation, grammar, and spelling before sending anything out to students; and especially avoiding excessive graphics or quotes.
Another important pattern of communication is following up with students on where they stand in in their course. I feel that it is important to be thorough in my assessments and, generally speaking, offer a progress report so that students understand how they are scoring on assignments, what has been completed, and what tasks are left to be completed and the deadlines for when they need to be submitted. Often, I will promote suggestions if students require tutoring or direct them to resources in their texts or other references. Many students have even complimented this action because they did not feel entirely isolated and left to figure the material out on their own. This is also an especially good practice for students that are reluctant to participate or even speak up by just having an instructor who checks in and provides a service that they would not ordinarily receive. With that being said, it's good to provide all contact information and my office hours for when I am generally available to receive calls and emails and check messages.
Much like all the posts already extant in this forum, I believe consistency and timeliness are the two most important aspects of communication for my course. Consistency, as in despite my work load, my mood, or my personal feelings towards a student and his/her performance in my class, always respond with grace and oodles of good will. Timeliness, as in I try to get back to students within a couple hours of their email to me. Students often report that this speed makes them feel incredibly taken care of, cared about, and engaged in a real-life, ongoing classroom experience, and with smart phones (which I don't even have), there is no reason why we cannot give this level of engagement to our students on a daily basis.
It is important to be respectful, professional, compassionate and most of all consistent.
Communication must be clear and consistent. Just like parenting, when the boundaries are firm and well defined there is security.
Aubrie,
We do have to assess everything we do in our online courses. Communication is essential to assess. Thanks.
Instructors should assess what is to be achieved with each communication and how often this type of communication is needed.
Mary,
I agree. As a part of my teaching philosophy I put in my syllabus RESPECT is always included. Thanks for your input.
Esther,
Consistency is key. We have to be clear and students need to understand the best way to communicate and how to be professional in their communication. Thanks!
Esther,
Providing such an explanation should make students think about what they are saying and providing your email address to "talk" more is a good strategy. Thanks for sharing your experience.
When establishing a pattern of communication, two important considerations come to mind. The first one relates to the fact that ideal communication should be courteous and respectful at all times. The second one implements the need for civility by setting up very specific communication guidelines that can be communicated to students at the outset of the course by simply including these guidelines in the course syllabus. By making course expectations crystal clear right from the start, unfortunate communicative situations can be avoided at best or greatly minimized at least.
The two most important things I consider when establishing a pattern of communication is consistency and clarity. Pretty much the same as everyone else. We as educators must be consistent when following course requirements. If we are not clear about what we want students will be confused, frustrated and even discouraged.
Simone,
I have experienced this also. Two years ago
I had a student use inappropropriate language
when responding to discussion forums. I promptly
responded to that student and explained the
importance of responding to others in a
professional manner and offered by e-mail
address (again) if he wanted to talk.
Earle,
Clear, concise, communication - three of my favoite "C" words. It's followed by comprehend. ;-)
Nice job.
Christine,
Being a role model can go a long way. We can be a role model in our communication, the way we treat others, etc. Being timely in your communication is another way to serve as an excellent role model. Thanks for your input.
Clarity of message and timeliness. Making sure the message is clear and delivered at the appropriate time - not too soon but also give people enough time to comprehend and respond.
One of the most important things, I believe, is to be a role model to the students. We should follow the Code of Conduct that we established so that they, too, will hopefully do the same.
Another thing is to be timely in responding to questions/clarifications. The online learning environment, although convenient, is fast paced. Usually, students need to submit weekly assignments so we should be prompt in responding to them.
Heather,
Simplicity follows along with being concise and clear in your communication. Right on! We many times do have to break that communication down into understandable chunks.
Thanks for your input.
I think the two most important things to consider is simplicity and consistency. For the most part, students want to learn. We as educators have earned the privilege to work with our students. At times, however, this can be a challenge. Communicating with them with simplicity and breaking down the communication will help them stay focused with structure that involves clear expectations. With all of this in mind, hopefully the student will be able to stay on track.
Heather
Jacqueline,
Sounds like you have a communication system that works for you. Timing is essential. You want to post on a regular basis to keep stuents involved, but don't want to post too much information and get into information overload and students begin to ignore information. Nice job.
