I plan to suggest to my colleagues that we add an introduction page to our on line class to introduce ourselves professionally and more informally with a picture and something about our interests.
It may be fun to offer a place where students can introduce themselves but we do have to be aware of privacy concerns with our particular students. Perhaps we could offer a forum where students can do this but are not required to do so. Or perhaps we could have some sort of online "Bingo" kind of game where people put their names in an interactive document as an icebreaker.
I liked the idea of sharing instructor hobbies as this might help students initiate conversations with their instructors
I've learned how essential projecting and maintaining my presence and authority in establishing a positive-building relationship / online classroom environment. The instructor can provide a short professional (relevant) biography of themselves and students can do likewise.
As a result of COV-19, if my school system adopts teaching online…I intend to apply of the above.
Students learn more when they have access to a physical teacher. It''s important to maintain those connections and that availability to your students.
Because we won't be meeting our students face-to-face, a form of introductions is imperative for the overall success. Students need to know what you, as an instructor, know - and in turn, you need to have a brief bio of each student in order to identify their potential strengths and weaknesses.
In this module I learned that it is important to model the behavior you want your students to display. For example, post an example discussion post to your own question. Also- I learned that facilitating teams or group work is an effective strategy to teaching online.
I learned that you can showcase your expertise through distant learning by providing a brief biography of yourself. I also discovered that asking students to post a short biography of themselves is a good way of establishing relationship and that this should be one of the 1st assignment to be given to students to be completed by day one.
Knowledge of students in this format is as important as it is in the traditional classroom.
The key to project authority is adaptation. I think that an instructor should be flexible to express expectations and communication during a course so that the student are aware of how to progress while meeting objectives.
I liked the teacher and student biographies .
I learned the importance of establishing a rapport with the students and maintaining that rapport with them throughout the coursse. i also learned that establishing authority as the teacher is important but doing so must be done in such a manner that the students feel a certain level of comfortability wwith the teacher.
This module taught me that it is suggested that the instructor post a biography of themselves at the beginning of the course or day 1, have your students post their biography and the importance of giving your office hours and timely feedback.
The suggestion to have a biography assignment and then emaila comment to each student introducing and acknowledging their bio was a hint I will incorporate
Students love seeing the "human" side of a teacher. It goes both ways in that a teacher should know his/her students just as students should know their instructor.
It is important for effective teachers to establish authority and build relationships with their students, even through the course is virtual. This includes providing info(with credentials, etc) about oneself, and asking students to share their own biographies.
Revealing a hobby or interest you have outside of the course is one way to build rapport with your students but should never be the center of your discussions regarding the course.
I learned that providing sample of the assignments you are requiring is good. It is alos good to contribute to the discussion boards and do not try and dominate the discussion.
It would appear that the subject of biographies should allow or get the students to approach their fellow student with respect and understanding. It is understandable that this could or would allow students to be more comfortable, thus entering a learning environment.
Personalize your material and make every effort to show interest in getting to know your students even through the distance. Students are more likely to perform at their highest potential when they know you are invested in them.
I don't really like the "All about me" part of the first week of school. Now that I believe my classes will be held virtually, I see its importannce in starting to establish that relationship with my students, and have jotted down notes on how they can start to create relationships within the class this way too. I will need to remember to offer students choices in how they present themselves in the bio section. That will be shared with everyone in the class, but I also noted to have a section or file that is only shared with me, similar to the "tell me about yourself" questionaire they normally fill out for me that gives me contact info and asking about their concerns about the year/class.
