I found the section on the different types of poor-performing students very interesting.  I've encountered each of those types in an in-person course.  Most of the content has been fairly intuitive, but I did take notes on that section.  I especially liked the suggested ways of responding to each student type.

Matt Wilkerson

Asynchronous discussions have been a standard mode of interaction for all of the online courses I've taught.  In some cases, optional synchronous chats have been offered, but these usually have exceptionally low participation.  Working synchronously in an online environment is very difficult because of time zones and work/family schedules.

Matt Wilkerson

Students need to have faith in their professor in an online environment.  We establish this faith with our biographies (creditionals), participation in synchronous/asynchronous discussion, our availability via email and office hours, and with by initiating contact with students that may need special assistant.  All of these aspects are neccessary for the student to feel comfortable that a real, qualified, and compassionate person is leading their learning experience.

Matt Wilkerson

The instructor in an online course must be aware of the interests/availabilites of multiple parties.  The instructor is the content experet, but must organize their content around the learning goals established for the course.  Additionally, the professor needs to familiarize themselves with the course assessment scheme and weekly student expectations.  Finally, the professor needs to know what they can assist students with, and who they can send student to for help with items that the professor doesn't have authority/ability to address. 

Matt Wilkerson