I have a problem getting students to actively participate in discussion boards. They are required to participate at leas three times per week. When they do participate, a lot of times there is no thought behind the posting. I can tell it was written to meet institutions policy. Asking questions that try to promote learning, and push them to succeed does not help. Any other suggestions to help promote DB postings that are though provoking, and help other students want to learn more? Perry

I have had a number of blended students who resent having to take a course online. I have had several students tell me that they did not expect this and do not like the online environment. The students do not know how to engage in online instruction because the information was covered in an orientation that was not recent. The drop rate on these students is very high (in my experience) despite extensive efforts to reach the student. Refresher courses are needed that have a very positive "cheerleader" approach. Students need to have motivation to recognize the benefits of working with the platform and technology; they need to know the value-add to their career goals. To many students online courses feel like they are teaching themselves. At AIU the students are not required to listen to the Live Chat so the students do not know what they are missing in the way of fillers to the readings. Without refresher courses the students will not like the online environment, will continue failing the courses or having their GPA destroyed due to the inability to master this learning platform. Without this refresher we are doing our students, our customers, a disservice.

I believe that instructor video intro should be a gold standard.Should contain short bio, objectives and expectations from the course and brief reminder of codes of conduct etc. Typed on the screen texts can very well stand for the weight of the old fashioned textbooks but the human nature still can connect to the real human face much better than to Mr. Maxwell's :-)

I teach courses for several universities and student engagement is the most significant predictor of a student's final grade. If a student is engaged and motivated, the work is usually of passing quality at the very least. Even if it isn't, they can utilize feedback from earlier assignments to improve later ones and end up passing. The overwhelming majority of students who fail my courses are the ones that I never hear from and will not respond to email inquiries. This continually puzzles me as I wonder why would someone go through the trouble of applying, getting accepted, enrolling in classes, and then not participate. Fortunately, these folks represent a minority. The majority of students are adult learners with a sincere desire to learn. That's what makes teaching online courses rewarding. I also teach some on ground courses where the majority of students are traditional and the difference is significant. Cliff

When it comes to saving information on the students in the online classroom, do you just leave it up to the course management system's availability to retrieve data on the students or do you keep records of e-mails, assignments etc in folders on your personal computer?

Teaching is a powerful position, and it is the responsibility of the instructor to serve as a role model for the students. I feel teaching is one of the toughest, but most rewarding, professions. It is my responsibility to allow, but aid, students to take responsibility for their own learning and help prepare them for a career in accounting. Student learning is enhanced when the students are actively engaged in the course and perceive the course as relevant to their personal and professional goals. My overall structure of the course depends on the course material and the students in the course. It is my responsibility as an instructor to determine the best delivery method to the students to aid in their understanding of the material and this varies depending on the level of the student, such as graduate vs. undergraduate. I perceive the role of instructors to help students actively engage in their own learning and to critically think about the subject matter before them.

Identifying and proactively including the quieter students will help enhance learning

When feedback is effective the student and instructor will reap the rewards in all future assignments

Online education is wonderful. There needs to be active learning with student faculty contact, along with respect for the different ways of learning for the students. The platforms for teaching have become more advanced and more interactive. Combining thread discussions, lectures, quizzes, exams, papers, email and on some occasions live chats the student has the live classroom experience at their convenience. Through email for personal interaction and threaded discussions for the group classroom experience it is a terrific approach for learning. Along with internet web enhancements.

The asynchronous teaching environment includes the quality of the learning environment, the level of communication and the changing role of the teacher in the learning experience. There needs to be a collaborative learning experience using the universities curriculum. Communication and presence of the instructor is the key to a good learning environment. There needs to be active learning with student faculty contact, along with respect for the different ways of learning.

Critical to successful online learning As stated in the course given the same goals for a course, different instructors are likely to take different approaches to teach towards those goals. This is instructor academic freedom. I like that many professors can teach the same course many ways. I enjoy that the knowledge is a baseline for learning and passing the class but as a professor, we can teach this how we wish as long as the end goal is met. It is true as stated in the course that different professors are likely to adopt different instructional strategies, examples, and assignments as well as assessment measures. We all bring extensive knowledge of the subject matter being addressed in the course. It is wonderful that each professor can share his or her own experiences and examples. This creates a diverse learning environment that the students will benefit from.

Posting relevant news stories and videos reinforce classroom information.

Using this format to provide pertainent videos and articles enhances the learning experience.

Establishing your authority is key to the online classroom. Students need to have the same respect for you, and their fellow students, as they would in the classroom. The way to keep that respect is to make sure you establish who is going to make the rules and grade the test, but at the same time you want to make sure that you respect the students as well. You do not want to be rude or condescending to the students or treat them like children, but they do need to know who is in charge. To get respect you must give respect!

In my experience, I have seen many instructors start the online teaching and jump right into the course without reviewing the material first. When they do this they are not aware of any errors that may be in the course or what they students are doing. The instructor may not be able to help answer any questions in a timely manner. I definitely think that without the proper preparation for the course that the students are at a severe disadvantage. Instructors of online training need to be prepared and be an expert at the course in order to keep the students engaged.

In addition to the types of assessment mentioned in the lesson, our institution sends an assessment to the student's supervisor approximately six months after the student graduates. The intent of this assessment is to ensure that the student has mastered the material and, even more importantly, to ensure that the course itself supports the student's organization's objectives. The student's organization expends resources (time, money, and effort) by sending the student to the course; our institution wants to ensure those resources are well spent.

I have been an online instructor for about a year, and this is my first online teaching experience. I had a hybrid experience when I was in my master's degree program where we went to an on-ground class the first and sixth weeks, with all other weeks happening asynchronously online. Since we had the on-ground classes, the online courses had very little engagement and were more of a self study experience. I was therefore surprised at how much my former customer service experience had prepared me for the online teaching I do! Engagement is literally EVERYTHING in the online experience, particularly if you are teaching a segment of the population that may not know achievement first hand. With this realization came the application of my customer service training: get ahead in the communication game, try to answer questions up front that may come from the course set-up materials, and make sure that everyone knows what their role in the successful completion of the course. Above all of this, of course, is listening to the student when they do reach out to you, and try to understand things from their point of view. What do they really want from this course? Are they getting it? Managing expectations is what I did in my years in medical customer service, and continues to be a big part of my teaching job. I am thankful for this serendipity!

Shifting Power Away from the Instructor Instructors have all the power in the classroom. We apply late deductions, the academic honesty policy and interpret a student's mastery of materials. We encounter students who recognize their shortcomings and take responsibility for learning, aka lower maintenance students, and those who prefer to blame others for their limitations: students who need extra care and attention from us. Keep the message on point with regard to work in general vs. the student's work. This way the inferior work is not a reflection on the student, but a general discussion that will help the student address the actual problems in the paper. Steer away from referring to your "power." Watch the use of the word "I" as in "I graded your paper…" or "I found that your project was lacking…" or "I deduct points for…" If you have a student who wants to blame you for failure, then the overuse of "I" plays into their plan. Better to use:  Points were deducted…this is how we correct it  Your project was lacking because…but we can make it better by…  You received a _ grade for…so to improve we need to… When it comes time to solving a student problem let "we" enter into the conversation. This aligns you with the student in an effort to overcome the issues while affording the student a sense of collaboration. The power has now shifted from “you” and “I” to “we.”

Answering Unpleasant Emails Students send emails that can hurt our feelings or offend our sensibilities. While many of us agree that the tone and level of disagreement rarely happens in a campus-based classroom, we need to remember that communicating over the Internet via email and discussion boards isn’t something everyone is proficient at. Sometimes students can be quicker to act before they think on email, or may be having personal or professional problems of their own that we don’t know about and having little to do with our performance as faculty. Either way, we must not respond to aggressive emails in an aggressive manner. It is easy to ignore an unpleasant email and hope that "it goes away." Typically a failure to responds to an emotion-charged email fuels the fire and often ends up escalating the situation so many layers of administration are involved. If you answer an angry email in an angry way, you will convey a bad attitude, which reflects poorly on us all. You may come off as rude, prideful or just nasty. Most upset student emails stem from frustration. By addressing students in an uplifting and forward-thinking manner, the student's attitude can be neutralized

Instead of asking a student about his/her previous class experience, some faculty members require a CREATIVE initial post. Here is an example: MOST INSTRUCTORS ASK YOU TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF UPON ENTERING A CLASS…WELL, SINCE I LIKE TO DO THINGS A BIT DIFFERENTLY, I AM GOING TO ASK FOR A VERY UNIQUE “HELLO” FROM YOU! WHAT IS YOUR MISSION STATEMENT? OK…I HEAR YOU OUT THERE…NO I AM NOT NUTS. COMPANIES HAVE MISSION STATEMENTS, SO DO PEOPLE. PLEASE SHARE YOUR SCHOLASTIC/PROFESSIONAL MISSION STATEMENT WITH THE CLASS. (Try to keep it around 50 words) I WILL START… MISSION STATEMENT FOR THE PROFESSOR I am an energetic, innovative and creative professor who seeks the same from her students. I will provide professional, comprehensive, and timely feedback to aid my students in their pursuit of lifelong knowledge and quality-enhancing skills. I seek to facilitate and foster an environment wherein the students are empowered to succeed. Some of you may think that it sounds like a posting for a singles ad, at least at the beginning, but from a faculty standpoint, this assignment does wonders. First issue that comes up: student posts the “normal” intro…hello! Guess what, this student may not READ anything that is posted...ALARMS should sound. On the flip side, the content of the introduction provides an insight into one’s creativity, abilities, and how much energy a student will expend in the class. At what level of Bloom’s taxonomy is s/he functioning? These postings are often quite telling. Other things that can be gained from the postings: grammar, spelling, development of an idea and logical thought, and tendency to COPY other people’s work. It is amazing how many students post an intro that is nearly identical to another. In the past, around 75% of the students who did this would plagiarize their first assignment. What is YOUR MISSION STATEMENT?