It is imperative that we as teachers do our best to keep students in the program.  If we identify problems early we can keep small problems from becoming big ones.  We must also keep careful records to protect ourselves, our institution and the student.

It helps to identify each student's learning style.  Be cautious of the 3 detrimental ones.  

The different between effective asynchronous and synchonous classes is important to why we choose asynchronous style for online teaching.

It is important to have a method to let the students know your experience and expertise.  It is just as important to get to know the students background and interests.

I am reminded that even with extensive knowlege of a subject, a good instructor must know the structure of the course and how to keep the students engaged and active within that structure.  It is important to look at (and try and use) the CMS from the students perspective.