I am interested in incorporating social media within my classroom so that I can bring learning to where my students are 90% of the day. The challenge is that in order to do so, it would have to be a part of my schools predefined curriculum and there always seems to be "compliance" hoops to jump through. What are some tips on getting support from my school to allow me to introduce social media into my classroom?

Making accessibility for learners with disabilities in online course settings is key. I really appreciated this module for detailing this concept so nicely. Being cognizant of learners with disabilities potentially not being able to keep up with the timing in chats will be critical for me to be thinking about.

This module really made me aware of the need to prepare for students who may have disabilities. Recognizing the most optimal presentation of transcripts and audio recordings suitable for learners with disabilities is really important. A study noted the use of assistive technology in online course forums as helpful (Heiman & Shemesh, 2012). Reference Heiman T1, Shemesh DO. (2012). Students with LD in higher education: use and contribution of assistive technology and website courses and their correlation to students' hope and well-being. J Learn Disabil. 45(4):308-18. doi: 10.1177/0022219410392047. Epub 2011 Jan 20.

I am relatively new to the microblogging tool for my students but what a great idea. I am planning to try this and other social networking tools for my students soon. Wang, Wang, and Shi (2013) noted that using microblogs in pharmocotherapy courses was well accepted. Reference Wang T(1), Wang F, Shi L. (2013). The use of microblog-based case studies in a pharmacotherapy introduction class in China. BMC Med Educ. 2013 Sep 8;13:120. doi: 10.1186/1472-6920-13-120.

I'm still new at the encouraging of social networking tools to my students. However, this module is a motivation for me to do more work on appropriately integrating social networking. Sharoff (2013) noted the value of using social networking tools for nursing students Reference Sharoff L. (2011). Integrating YouTube into the nursing curriculum. Online J Issues Nurs. 16(3):6. doi: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol16No03PPT03.

As a medical librarian, I am always super-sensitive about the importance of using proper citations for work. I always emphasize the utmost importance of proper citing of work and the avoidance of plagiarism. Academic integrity in online learning environments, like physical environments, is critical and should be emphasized (Azulay, Chertok, & Barnes, 2013). Reference Azulay Chertok IR, Barnes ER, Gilleland D. (2013). Academic integrity in the online learning environment for health sciences students. Nurse Educ Today. pii: S0260-6917(13)00202-5. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2013.06.002. [Epub ahead of print] .

I've had experience with both inherently intrinsically motivated students and extrinsically motivated students. I try to encourage the reward one feels from the learning itself but I do understand that grades may take over for some students. Nonetheless, I still try to encourage the benefits from the learning process. Collaboration within student groups has been shown to have resulted in intrinsic motivation (Rhee, Parent, & Basu, 2013). Reference Rhee J(1), Parent D, Basu A. (2013). The influence of personality and ability on undergraduate teamwork and team performance. Springerplus. 2(1):16. Epub 2013 Jan 19.

Posting to discussion sessions should always be meaningful and not forced. Over the years, I've encouraged many posting through encouraging students through praise and adding additional references to supplement their posts; thus, encouraging further posting from them.

Helping students with communication is essential in online courses. Some students may need more encouragement than others but it is essential to motivate and set proper guidelines for appropriate online course communication. Encouraging improvement for communication skills in online settings may be necessary (Foronda, Gattamorta, Snowden, & Bauman, 2013)
. Reference Foronda, C., Gattamorta, K., Snowden, K., & Bauman, E. B. (2013). Use of virtual clinical
simulation to improve communication skills of baccalaureate nursing students: A
pilot study. Nurse Educ Today.

Communication is essential in online courses. Having the support of online communication tools is essential in nursing courses (Morely, 2014)
. Having guidelines for proper communication is also necessary. It is important for me to establish such guidelines at the start of a course. Reference Morley, D. A. (2014). Supporting student nurses in practice with additional online
communication tools. Nurse Educ Pract. 14(1):69-75.

I tend to use the technology communication tools for smaller sized courses since I often only have a few students at a time. Technology tools for effective communication are essential. A study has demonstrated that virtual clinical simulation can improve communication skills in nursing students (Foronda, Gattamorta, Snowden, & Bauman, 2013) Reference 
Foronda, C., Gattamorta, K., Snowden, K., & Bauman, E. B. (2013). Use of virtual clinical
simulation to improve communication skills of baccalaureate nursing students: A
pilot study. Nurse Educ Today.

Do you think that one of the challenges for effective assessment is the grading process (Rubrics)? The reason I state this, grading is and can be socially constructed based on institutions, students and future work experience.

Misunderstandings are more common with email than other communication methods. In helping students to communicate effectively online I always tell them to double check what for grammatical errors by typing their discussion boards in a word document before submitting. In general, do you think that student discussion board messages should be short and to the point or do you think that students should post a reasonable response?

In order for the student to be successful with online learning the instructor needs to use real life scenarios as part of the classroom. Giving the student reasons for personal accomplishments will help set their future career.

One item noted from teaching online for some time, an instructor needs to actively communicate and collaborate with the online learning environment. It is without saying that communication technologies can potentially engage learners as long as the professor is communicating as well. Institutions and educators should promote the use of communication tools to help students participate and boost engagement.

Instructors have a very fun job in learning to communication across generations. It is also very interesting to see these generations come together inside the classroom discussion forums. It is very important to set clear, precise expectations about how communication should happen within the classroom. If not, things can quickly go array. Along with communicating with generations within the classroom, it is also interesting to observe the different levels of motivation across generations. Jorell Lawrence

In the past I have used welcome calls as a way to develop an initial connection and contact with my students. I have had both positive and negative feedback and reactions to these calls. I find that it can be an effective tool, but it can also be very time consuming depending on class size and if contact is made- the amount of questions a student may have. It also allows the students to have a voice to put with a name. Overall, I found it to be an effective tool and still use it from time to time. Jorell Lawrence

A scoring rubric is an attempt to communicate expectations of quality around a task. It communicates the “rules to a game and how the game should be played” A well designed rubric can inspire students to rise to the occasion consistently and minimize misunderstanding, frustration, and unnecessary time and effort to complete any assignment(s).

Teaching an online course could pose a serious challenge if students in the course are from different generation group; however, the learning process could be enhanced and students learning outcomes improved if the course can be designed in a way that encourage students from different generation to collaborate as often as possible. No one generation has monopoly to knowledge; each generation is capable of teaching and learning from other generations.

Communication is the foundation to any successful relationship(s)—professional or personal. Good and effective communication promotes learning and student engagement. Poor and ineffective communication creates "noise", distraction, and make online learning uninteresting.