I like the suggestion to have a peer review my course. That should be a great way to get honest feedback and positive insights on how to improve what I am doing. 

Giving your students meaningful, constructive, positive feedback in a variety of ways is very important and should happen on a regular basis. 

The dynamic syllabus is a key to helping the student learn. Scaffolding of knowledge is dependent on prior knowledge and the experiences of the student. The instructor needs to identify the knowledge base of each student in order to support their learning. 

The creation of the template that is consistant will lead to the triumph of your students.

Having a consistant format with a standard time frame for each module is important to keep students working on the content. 10 -15 minute long modules is a good time frame to keep student interest.

I found it interesting that technology can be overwhelming to some students and that it would discourage them to the point of dropping the class. I have assumed that my students were all going to be used to computer technology and smart phone technology. I have to remind myself that there may be a case here or there where that is an issue and I must reach out to all of the students and ask if they are understanding how to use the program and hardware needed to be successful in the class. 

I learned that it is a good strategy to allow for some social interactions to take place at the beginning of the discussion. It is also important to allow for some wrap up discussion at the end of the session. 

I thought the idea of providing a biography and having students post their own is brilliant. It is important to have some understanding of your students and build some trust. It is much easier to do when you meet in a classroom setting on a regular basis. This may be a good alternative formula to try and build that same sense when on a computer learning format. 

I find that time discipline will be a challenge for many students. The instructor will really need to have a consistant line of communication with the students to provide the academic and technical support they need to remain engaged. It really is up to the instructor to have command of both.