I think one valuable component that is missing online is the community environment. I feel that it was a vital part of my success as a student to have a sense of "community" and to a lesser degree even a sense of "competition." Online students miss the opportunity to "hang out" and commiserate with other students in their classes and to share thoughts and ideas spontaneously. When I did my mentoring for my online students I encouraged them to try to find other students in their area to meet up with or to form an online community of some kind.… >>>

Some ways for instructors to motivate online students may be to offer more interesting problems or puzzles to solve such as mind-mapping using inspiration, concept mapping, treasure map hunts, and so on with additional grade points offered as an added incentive to the highly intelligent student. Also, to motivate the highly exhausted full-time working student by adding humor to the discussion forums in order to brighten their spirits. Instructors can show they care for the success of the entire class by offering positive reinforcement whenever possible, showing patience, and offering the most help available while the students adapt to the… >>>

As someone who returned to school to obtain my Masters Degree, I see how important it was for me to have work experience in order to apply the concepts learned in the classroom. I went to college initially, fresh out of high school and didn't retain nearly as much as I did when I returned to college as a "seasoned" worker/learner. Now, when you add the ability to achieve a degree completely online, I wonder what will be lost from an interactive perspective. In a class environment, you are able to have immediate, if not always appreciated, feedback from instructors… >>>