Over the last few terms, I have made a active effort to reach out more to students and help them in any way that I could.  I want to be sure that they know that I want them to succeed and to achieve their goals.  I really enjoy activly engaging students in discussions that we have in the online classroom.  By asking questions about a topic or providing a hypothetical example, I think that helps students think critically and really dig into the topic more.  

I have found that this is one of the weakest areas in students.  When presented with a set of questions and one of them is a critical thinking question, some students skip the question.  They have not been taught how to critically think in high school.  I would recommend that schools implement a specific class on critical thinking as a core curriculum class to prepare students for their college coursework.

This is the most valuable of all gifts from teaching.  In the online environment the wisdom I have gained springs from knowing that each name on the roster is a human being.  I have learned that awareness, compassion, and praise when interacting with students, are pillars of student success.  Of all of these, awareness is the most prized since it allows me to access all the others.   

Cheryl Henry 

My main purposes in taking this particular course was to get a feel for the level it is aimed at, so I can recommened it to faculty.  We do not do a lot of fully online teaching but are increasingly using blended learning and seeking to upskill faculty in techniques that will keep students engaged with their courses outside the classroom.  

I am fond of the practice of connecting student feedback, learning objectives, and class content. I think we should always teach to a test. As long as the test is what we want the students to know. The formative and summative assessments should match the learning objectives, and the learning objectives are what we are teaching to. So the connection is pretty clear.

From this course I have learned who to deal with different behavio, personalit's. Managing the course keep them busy answer their emails within 24 hour.

How do you get students to use correct grammar?  Many of the students want to talk about themselves using the llittle i instead of capitalzing I.

Any thoughts?

I just finished my first class with Max Knowledge just in time to prepare my upcoming online Statistics course. I printed out many of the bulleted lists from EL102, and I plan to use these as checklists, as I prepare and update the course website. While I already use most of these, I now have a fresh take on "Teaching Online Learners". I especially want to focus on many of the pointers from the "Project Your..." sections. These will help to improve my "turnaround time" when responding to student submissions and/or inquiries; the lists will help me create an improved… >>>

Hello, All.

I found it very interesting to read and learn all about techniques to engage online students in EL113. However, in the back of my mind, I also wondered about the instructor. What happens when an instructor has been teaching the same material online for years? How can an institution engage the instructor? Or how can the instructor liven up the course to re-engage him/herself? I'm curious to know your thoughts. 

Stacie Chambers

This course is presenting some great ideas to brqanch out from the "canned" course material. Using some different techniques can make the learning not only benefical, but also fun.  If the students can have some fun at learning, this will make them more willing to engage. Any thoughts?

I already use a lot of the tips that were provided.

I find that some students  shut down because General Ed courses are not fun or valued like their major courses. In their other courses they may not be required to write many essays or conduct research but in English these factors are necessary to be successful in the course.

For instance, in other courses since they don't use Turn it In so they don't like to use for my English course. So I try to be encouraging by consistently offering assistance and web links that will assist them with… >>>

The class was instrumental and helpful in inspiring me to create an online course.

To plans into action at my school!

We need to find better ways to extend technology in to the classroom.

I feel it is important for the students to have the instructors support along with the lesson.

I love teaching. I don't have anything profound to add to your collective experiences, but in my experience, finding ways to make your students trust and respect you accelerate their interest and success dramatically.

A key take away from this course is that I will post an announcement at the beginning of each term discussing active learning and the students and my roles and responsibilites to the prcocess.

I strive to keep up with technology by using Lynda.com and other online resources. These help me learn how to teach others software too.

I have found that online learning is similar in many ways to actual classroom learning. There are many benefits as well as some drwabacks to online learning. I find it hard to stay engaged and follow up on the discussions that are happening over a period of time. I have to find a way to be more scheduled and regular with the times I am participating. I like that I can participate at virtually anytime I choose though. 

Differention of instruction is easy if you DO get a short 'bio' of the student and BUILD on their experience. 

Students feel flattered by being singled out and the learning becomes more personal.

Whatever experience a student has (military, a summer job, etc.) is a great way to make the material relevant to THEM and THEIR needs.