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?

Focus on the Negatives: Technology We've all gotten emails about students who end up with no working computer, internet cut off due to non-payment, you name it. Some students even start school with no computer and use a public PC, or one at work. This is a fact of our academic life. While not having internet or a computer at home may not be the best scenario for an online student, we need to make solid suggestions on how students can accomplish course tasks – NOT berate them for not having a computer. The student is already enrolled in your class. If they have technological obstacles to overcome, it’s our job to help, not hinder. We can make suggestions to students, such as using computers at public libraries, and community centers or asking their boss at work to enable AIU access – not for personal use, but to advance professionally by furthering their education. These are just a few suggestions.

Hello Dr. Wilkinson and Colleagues, It seems in every class there are always students that seems "clueless" as to the assignment instructions, how to respond to the discussion board, how to write grammatically correct sentences, etc. I give special attention to these students by closely monitoring their work, providing very specific feedback, maintaining close communication, etc. What methods do you use to determine whether or not these students may have been in special ed in high school and not just regular ed students that need a bit more help than the others? Kind regards, Sara Fine Instructor

How do find that line between being a facilitator? an authority figure? and remain student-centric? What do you believe is the most effective classroom mangment style? student-centric or teacher centric? Student- centric is ideal, but what happens to organization and meeting objectives and outcomes? Teacher- centered is great for organization, but it can become too structured and stifling...

Hello Dr. Wilkinson and Colleagues, I've noticed that many students intersperse texting language into their discussion board posts even though I post class announcements and indicate in the grading rubrics that points will be deducted for using texting language anywhere in the classroom or in their homework. How do you handle this issue? What strategies have you employed to deter the use of texting language? Kind regards, Sara Fine Instructor

Hello Dr. Wilkinson and Colleagues, I've been teaching online for about 4 years and am fascinated with online learning. I feel that this medium enables many students to attend college that might not have been able to do so if their only option was a ground campus. I've worked with Blackboard, Moodle e-College, Sakai, and proprietary systems. Do you feel one is more effective as a language management system than the others? Will students taking a similar course using Blackboard and Moodle, for example, fare the same? Kind regards, Sara Fine Online Instructor

One of the methods I like to use to engage student’s in the classroom is to find out in the beginning of the course 'why' the content matter is relevant to them (i.e. how will the students use this knowledge in their respective careers). This insight and direction from the students has at times changed my whole approach to the class! Sometimes it means extra work on my part but it pays off in the end. The students are more engaged and enjoy the class.

Use the classroom announcement board to remind students that you are there to assist; that your virtual doors are open. Let students know that if needed you are willing to provide them with a phone call to discuss their concern if they feel it is necessary and would help to address their concerns. However you should remind them of your preferred method of communication.

I teach in the healthcare arena. While there are certainly standard, typical pieces of information that must be imparted to my students, my area of expertise is ever-changing. So, it is crucial that the content for my course be more dependent on scholarly articles and recent research, rather than merely depending on a published textbook, no matter how well vetted. In other words, my curriculum must be dynamic and pliable, as changes in the healthcare landscape occur constantly. Relying on only one source of information, e.g., a textbook, would be counterproductive, as the changes in healthcare are constant, often immediate, and always salient and of great importance.

I have found that a very useful way off interacting with students, while at the same time, building a rapport and an environment of trust, is to tap into the expertise of students in my classes. While I am the most expert on our topic, oftentimes I have students who have real-life and work place experiences that help to illuminate key points in the course. So, when I pinpoint subject-matter experts within the student roster, it (a) helps to teach by using anecdotal information, (b) create a defined role of importance for many students, and (c) provides non "SME" students with an immediate connection with a peer. This helps to "gel" a class and to enrich the learning experience.

I feel strongly that a large part of what I must do as instructor is to prepare my students for the work force. Oftentimes, my students are remiss interacting with classmates, and with me, with the proper amount of respect and professionalism. So, I try to always model proper work place communcation, e.g., more formal interactions. The trick is remaining approachable and jocular while presenting myself as a figure of authority. Almost always, responding to an inappropriate email with the proper style and type of remarks helps to redirect a misguided student. A good example is still the best teaching tool in many instances.

We use "Turnitin" at my institution. I instruct my students to always insert original thougths and ideas into their assignments. Frequently, however, my students have elevated similarity scores. These students email me to assure me that they have not "copied" or "plagiarized." I have to inform my students that an elevated score can occur even if all work has been properly cited and sorted. I let them know that the "Turnitin" score is a ratio of original thoughts and ideas as compared to those properly gleaned from outside sources. I encourage them to "re-think" and "re-word" in order to improve their submissions. I find it a bit more difficult to motivate students to think outside of the "box" in the online environment, but I find that increased interaction with the students, coupled with encouragement, leads to improved outcomes.

In examining the support role of online instructors, the issue arisies of how to separate out computer technical issues with those of course subject matter. Some students experience remedial PC-related problems with applications, audio or video issues and the like, well outside of the purview of the instructor. In such instances, the student should be directed to the institution's technical support department for trouble shooting and resolution (assuming there is an adequate tech support capability). However, if the student encounters a simple navigational issue that the instructor can quickly resolve, it may be best to direct the student around the problem and then encourage them to review the platform orientation primer that should be available. Turning such a simple request down may appear that the instructor is non-supportive or has a, 'Sorry, it's not my job' attitude, thus appearing to be unsupportive of the student. John

Can face-to-face courses be translated into the online environment? Absolutely! The topics covered can be the same, but the methods for delivery and evaluation must be edited. Most course can be translated from the traditional learning environment to the online environment. The key is proper review and changes to fit the content to the learning environment, and carefully planning can accomplish this goal.

It is very important for an on-line instructor to manage the facilitation process carefully. For many instructors, the student roster is comprised of non-traditional aged students. So, how can a balance be struck between proper, dynamic, engaged guidance and coddling or hand holding? If instructors provide clear objectives and a roadmap for completing the same, along with consistent feedback and encouragement, most students can be successful. Instructors should not, however, spoon feed information to students. Instead, instructors must lead the class on a road to discovery.

Often an email exchange can be derailed by simple formatting or punctuation issues. For example, using all caps can imply anger or frustration, when mere emphasis was required. Why not simply use underlining instead? Proper salutations in emails can set the best initial tone, e.g., "Dear Professor Schmitt" or "Dear Samuel." With today's prevalent use of texting and online chatting, basic rules of decorum and manners are being lost. Proper tone is essential, and students and instructors must be careful to explore not only the content of their exchanges, but also their mode and pattern of delivery.

In today's every-changing education landscape, new learning tools are created each day. While these innovative tools have opened new vistas for instruction, for some instuctors and learning, the options can be overwhelming. So, when is technology too much? I believe that using online tools can be wonderful, but the pace with which new choices and options are presented to both instructors and learners must be matched to the personalities, teaching styles and learning patterns of all involved in online learning. When the online tools become the focus, and the course content takes a make seat to the same, technology becomes "too much."

Learners who are intimidated by computer technology might find hardware and software problems they cannot fix so overwhelming that they might decide to discontinue the course rather than seek assistance. Once technical issues are identified with my students, I stay in the loop until the issues are resolved.