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It seems everyone waits until the last minute or day to submit assignments, which challenges the time and patience of the instructor. First I address that by reminding procrastinators of Parkinson's law, then I follow up with more personal emails.
I use humor a lot, but online learning is a flat dimension where the receiver cannot see facial expressions, hand gestures, etc. therefore misunderstanding may occur. Use humor but with caution.
It is important to students to know what expertise, educational preparation and training and professional background credibility the instructor brings to the course. I tell the students those things are important, but, "Just because something is said by a voice of authority, is it true?" If they are assured of the teachers validity they will trust what he presents.
I respond to most of the student discussions with further information, often researching topics they may have no knowledge of but relevant to the topic under discussion and share that with them. I also include statements like "Learning should be fun" and include my signature (:>). I link into whatever sentence or phrase that is key to their paragraphs and find something that corresponds to that and add to it. I emphasis that the goal is to keep the conversation open and keep it moving forward. I take my work seriously but I don't take myself seriously so I use… >>>
Reply to Nicole Golden's post:Replying to student's comments with personal comments like addressing the student by name, and requiring them to address each other by name helps create community. It is also recommend to being each class with a "warm up" session with small talk and time to address any questions of a general interest.
As in all communication, the process of online discussions must always move forward. An instructor should continue the string with comments and questions that will encourage feedback and remarks from the students.
Reply to Aricka McCauley's post: There are many ways to communicate. It is best to ascertain the most appropriate for students and instructor ommensurate with the data and timing. Some platforms are complicated and require computer/technological intelligence. Best practice is the one most easily adaptible to sutudent/instructor needs.
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