Designing an effective online instruction requires four main considerations:

Synchronous Engagement: Meeting remotely via an online meeting platform like Zoom or Teams can pose challenges to engagement. Students are not mandated to have cameras on which raises concerns of engagement. The way I manage this obstacle is by integrating Breakout Rooms where students meet in small groups and they report back to the whole group. I also utilize Google forms or Google slides for groups to collaborate to complete a task. Sometimes, I do call on students to share when the question is non-threatening such as- What is your topic of interest for writing the upcoming paper?

Engagement through Feedback: Providing detailed feedback is important for students to meet objectives. Feedback includes specific critique, recommendations, examples, links to resources as well as ratings using a rubric. 

Engagement through General Communication: Timely communication via email or Canvas Inbox is instrumental to managing instructor's and student's time related to teaching and learning. A time during the day needs to be set aside which is dedicated to guiding students by responding to their inquiries. Communication also can be initiated by instructor to send group announcements or individual messages regarding grades and supports available. 

Compassionate Engagement: It is important to remember that many students are dealing with challenges as they might be working multiple jobs, taking care of families, and dealing with other personal challenges. Based on specific cases and situations, it is ok to provide support in form of time extension or scaffolds such as meeting with student individually to provide guidance.