An instructor's presence in the online learning environment is valuable to the students and makes them feel there is a resource available to them that can assist them through their course. A short biography can help students learn about their instructor, and in turn, instructors should take the time to learn about each of their students by having then post a bio in their first assignment. Creating a place within the CMS for synchronous and asynchronous conversations can help students interact with others in the same learning environment and gives the instructors the ability to help more students at one time with sharing insights and answers to common questions that students may have.
