I folks, I once had a student in a class who had brain damage, could not find a page number in the book etc., Services wanted to keep her for a "head count," but was it right to continue to enroll someone who we knew might require services or a type far beyond what we might be able to provide? Martha Moore

Why should we shy away from competition? (i understand the intense competition reference, but all the same, that is realitive). Competition is a part of life, especially in our society/economy, and should be recognized and dealt with as such.

what is the best forum, or an acceptable forum for establishing rapport with your students outside the classroom? what has worked for you in the past and can you suggest some techniques that you have seen that are absolutely a bad idea.

There is nothing harder than maintaining focus (both the student and your own) when there is no eye contact, low attendence at Live Chats, and little communication with students. One way is to continutally change your presentations to keep them fresh and to keep you on your toes mentally. Second, continue to bombard your absent students with information - be the 'drippy facuet' in their lives. For some the ability to ignore all those messages gets weaker and they actually start to participate. Finally, there is always the 'shock' treatment method. Some students will only become engaged in the learning process when they realize that your class is not the 'pass through' they anticipated at the start of the session. One of the most difficult things to instill in online students is the sense of urgency and timeliness regarding their assignments. For some the light goes off early - others become discouraged and start to fall behind - those are the ones that you have to work hard to retain and rekindle that spark for learning. In either case, it is up to you - the instructor - to light the spark and keep fanning the flames.

I must admit, I'm guilty of shuffling the papers to look for info while a student is talking. I'll make a conscientious effort to eliminate that behavior in the future.

Keep students focus by let them see you enjoy the job that they are training for and it will be fun and exciting when they comeplete the course.

Let them know you care about each one of them as a person.

Make sure every student feel they are apart of the class.

In a technical institute it seems that my age group is fresh out of high school or 35+, no middle. what experience do some of you have in this respect?

By understandig your student help you to provied the best education they need.

I like the way this module tied the instructor's motivation to the student's motiviation. I intend to add more enthusiasm to my presentations.

I especially liked the discussion on midterm refocus. I am excited to implement this.

As an instructor of Anatomy & Physiology, the diversity present in a large class can be overwhelming for both instructor and student. Maturity levels, motivations and comprehension abilities (or lack of) are all areas that present challenges throughout the class. Often I feel inadequite in my ability to meet the needs of each student when they need it.

I am interested in developing some fun activities for the accounting students. Can you suggest some resources?

Students have trouble prioritzing family, work and studies. What are some responses that might help?

I find that the more I know about my students, the better I am able to relate to them. I sometimes find out that we have similar backgrounds and this helps me relate the material to shared experiences.

I do several things to try to keep my students interested and to let them know that I want them to succeed in my classes. When a student misses class, I try to contact them to make sure everything is okay. In class I joke a lot. I try to get everyone involved in solving the problems I put on the board (I teach math). I also have some fake Million Dollar bills that I will pass out as rewards. I just keep some of these in my wallet and pass them out whenever I think it will generate interest and participation in my class.

Students need to be motivated in order for that to happen the need to know when there doing somthing correctly

It is very crucial to develop a rapport with your students so if somthing is not allowing them to succed in class you will have a rapport with the students so they can come to you

Frustration in a student is a major down fall it will affect their progress and drive