What tools can anyone sugges to provide assistance and motivation to a student(s) that just seem to not try or give up so easily? What motviational statements can one make that might register with a student in crisis? 

I have used video introductions only once. I did find it to be a little different and acutally a little awkard. After I made the video, it took me a few moments to feel that I had made the best introduction. I kept wanting to redo the video casue there was other items I failed to mention. But it did seem more personal , I guess if I was a student I would want to see who I am working with. 

I also agree wiht your viewpoint. Createing those relationships with your students early is very helpful. Also being able to communicate with those students who seem to be a little lazy can be very rewarding. 

Yes, that is very true. It is essential to communicate with your students literally day one in order to overcome the lack of face to face interaction. My frst experiences with online education was very challenging, when I was so comfortable with ground based instrcution. I was able to learn my students from acutally interacting with them. Online forced me to send out welcoming emails and posts. I learnied to give plenty of encouragement and support. 

Most of us who serve in an online capacity for our respective colleges and universities, still balance our own personal lives and other employment commitments. We as educators must find a way to balance grading, interaction with students, and motivating our students to become successful in our classes. We tend to focus on what our students must do but seldom do we discuss amongst ourselves the challenges that come along with our roles. We must find the organizational skill sets and time management techniques that work best for us. But at the end of the day, we still must balance… >>>

In my experince as a online instructor, I have found many students that simpl do not have the motivation and/or drive to finish the course. Many of them begin their claasses and eventually submit less and less assignments as the semester drags on How can we as educators find a way to keep those students engaged throughtout the semester without that face to face interaction? 

My challenge has been in a online setting to find a way to communicate everything I want my student(s) to learn through typing. There are non verbal cues and other forms of communication that hel enhance the learning environment. Online does challenge that belief. 

Reply to kathy webb's post:I too believe that we as instructors need to refrain from projecting judgement upon our students. In many of my online classes, I have students that frequently come up with many excuses. These excuses range from weekly trips to the hospital to computer glithces. I have found that my belief in thier excuse is not the issue. The challenge is to make the student find a way to complete the assignment and submit it in a timely manner. It is a never ending journey. 

I have found that maintaining an open line of communication with students is very helpful. I do reach out every so often to my students and try to gauge what type of support they might need from me. It can be very time consuming but it does bridge that communication gap. Students in my opinion do generally like the hand the teacher extends when they maintain their communication and engagement. 

I have found that sending some form of a reminder email and/or a phone call if needed to remind students to stay on task. In my experience, it has been benificial to send a positve email letting the student know that you are awaiting thier assignment or discusion posting. The problem is, you end up hearing thousands of excuses. I have heard them all. But you might get a few to respond in a timely manner.