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.

In order for communication technology to facilitate learning and encourage maximum participation of students, there must be 24/7 support to make sure that any student's communication technology concerns are addressed immediately.

How do you tell your students to manage their time for their courses? Is it effective? What success rates have you found?

In the online environment, I find that group projects are a challenge. Students already have individual schedule and trying to get them to works as a team is hard. Therefore, I do my best to keep projects simple and to the point. Large projects lead to low participation and lower grades.

I find that my students have a huge issue with time management and creating a school/personal life balance. They often ask for extension because they cannot turn assignments in on time. I have created a calendar for my students that tends to help them tremendously. What have you done for your students that has been beneficial?

Rubrics have made the grading process easier but students clearly understanding why they received a grade is the true victory. I provide rubrics prior to an assignment deadline so students clearly see what is expected and how to achieve it.

I am an older student(Gen-X)who attends college with Gen-Y and has baby boomers for Professors. This combination of individuals also exists in the classes I teach. It is true that understanding the way each group communicates in general is a great help. Instructors have to get them to see how much they can learn from one another versus what each group is lacking.

When clear expectations and consequences for not meeting expectations are spelled out in the syllabus, students succeed better. It is also crucial the instructor rules by example, when the teacher follows the rules enforcing the rules is easier.