Hi All! 

I have also found Google Voice to be extremely helpful in communicating with my online students.  Two major advantages seem to stand out above the rest in my experience using it for the past year:

-Google Voice has helped me to distinguish between students calling/texting vs. the rest of the communication that comes through my phone. This has been very helpful, because I know that when "Google Voice" is calling me it is one of my students, and this gives me a quick heads up that I will be speaking with a student (as opposed to a telemarketer,… >>>

I really liked the idea of asking students for specific feedback:

What is one thing that you would like for the instructor to STOP doing? 

What is one thing that you would like for the instructor to START doing?

What is one thing that you would like for the instructor to CONTINUE doing?

It may seem obvious that we want student feedback, but directly asking for it within the course is something I have never done.  I might think that I have the best teaching techniques in the world, but if it's not working for my students, then I need… >>>