Student engagement is crucial in an on-line environment because there is no face to face, verbal and nonverbal communication present. Therefore, the instructor must have good writing skills to effectively communicate the expectations to the students. The correspondence must include motivating and encouraging comments to inspire the students to perform well.

In addition the instructor should post their office hours / hours of availability to allow the students the opportunity to ask detailed questions.

Usually when the students know that the instructor is present and available to assist they tend to be engaged in the course.

 

Being an instructor can be very challenging in keeping the students engaged.  Both teaching methods: as an on-line facilitator and a face to face in the classroom setting instructor must maintain the retention of its students. Therefore, the best way to do this is to incorporate both your academic  knowledge with your professional experiences to enhance the learning experience.

This simply means as you discuss different topics give examples of how you would apply that situation/ application  in the providers office; especially if you are teaching the  medical billing and coding curriculum or medical assistance.

Discuss some tips that only… >>>

Hi Theresa,

You are correct the methods an instructor uses to keep the students engaged differs from face to face as opposed to on-line. I also teach on-line therefore, the methodology that I employ is availability.I have provided several ways for my students to reach me for assistance within the Blackboard arena; email, chat room, discussion tab as well as by phone. When an instructor is accessible to the students it gives them a feeling of comfort.

 

I also share some tips from working in the industry with my on-line students to enhance their learning experience.

I agree it's important to have some stress reliever in place to help you cope with stressful situations. Exercising is a great stress reliever. A nice brisk walk through the park is not only therapeutic but also a great way to keep the body in motion.

 

I also believe in discussing stress mechanism with other colleagues' especially those with some tenure. They may be able to share some techniques to help you cope with the different stress levels.

Being an instructor can be very challenging in keeping the students engaged.  Both teaching methods: as an on-line facilitator and a face to face in the classroom setting instructor must maintain the retention of its students. Therefore, the best way to do this is to incorporate both your academic  knowledge with your professional experiences to enhance the learning experience.

This simply means as you discuss different topics give examples of how you would apply that situation/ application  in the providers office; especially if you are teaching the  medical billing and coding curriculum or medical assistance.

Discuss some tips that only… >>>

I think discussing coping techniques with other experienced instructors is a great way develop your coping skills. If you do not find a method to release stress it will manifest itself in other negative ways. For instance you may become irritable and unapproachable because you are stress out about the lack of teaching support materials; power-point slides etc..