In managing civility and discussion topics, I find that students have a tendency to use "text language". Of course, once I recognize the language I correct it immediately. It is quite helpful to set the course expectations prior to the start of the course and to remind students of these expectations weekly by posting a weekly announcement. This topic offered great insight. Chanel

By completing this training, I have learned loads of information regarding technology. I seem to struggle with knowing with technology tool to use and how to make sure it is effective for the course. I definitely lean toward email and discussion board, and have little knowledge of twitter, facebook, and other networking tools. Does anyone have this challenge, if so, how have you overcome it? Chanel

Hello to all, This post stems from a reply to a fellow participant posting in regards to email versus instant messaging. What I am finding is that the use of email versus instant messaging varies with each institution. In particular, at my current setting, I extended the over to contact me via instant messaging; however my students preferred method of communications remains in the form of emails. What is your preference? What have you experienced in your classes and/or what trends have you noticed? Thank you, Zakevia

To get our student to participate we setup guidelines for when the discussions have to be turn end. The original post have to be posted by Wednesday midnight. To get full credit they have to reply to at less two of their classmates by Sunday midnight. This help us with the student participation.

Personally I love having all ages of students. It keeps class interesting as all have something different to contribute. The youngest are always on top of popular culture and the oldest have wisdom of life experience to share. In the best classes it creates an environment of tolerance and respect.

On the first day of a new class I send out a email titled "Rise to the Top" in the email I communicate to the student what is need to successfully complete this class. I also explain how to contact me if they have communicate if they have an question about the class or the weekly Topics.

When our students login to their class the first thing they see is the announcement page. On the announcement page they see information they need regarding the guideline on the conduct of our school and how to communicate with instructor and classmates. We post tip for success on how to succeed in our online environment to help our students.

By using live lab in my class where the student can enter act with the instruct has been a great help in the communication process. In the live labs the students can ask question about the topics of the week or ask any questions that they might have about that weeks assignment.

I think this is another F2F thing that is easier, as we can usually "see" what generation folks are from. I find that the Intros allow us a bit of insight into what generation we are working with. As I am a Baby Boomer, who prefers to work alone I can work with more than one generation a bit easier than some I have spoken with, however [with that said] I am not sure I am doing a great job online of helping each at their level. Can anyone share a strategy they are using in their online class to ensure they are easily accepted by any generation? Or can anyone share how they are determining what generations they are working with? I look forward to your responses. Thanks kam

I love taking these courses as it reminds me [as an instructor] of things I can include in my classes to enhance the students' experience as well as lessen my load. The idea of creating a specific document (outside of my already posted Office Hours) can minimize students writing at 11:50 PM on the night an assignment is due, expecting an immediate response. In upcoming classes I am going to email and post a note as to when I am online specifically. Though it may vary, there are times I know for sure I am online, including during the early hours of a day when assignments are due. Specifically stating this may help with those last minute requests, that I never can get to. Has anyone tried this? How did it work for you?

While reading through this section, and these comments, a common "melody" rang through my head... as instructors we want to be available, however if we have chat rooms and instant messaging and question threads and email and and and..... however students are not taking advantage of all of those resources, are we spreading ourselves thin to then go out and create additional channels for students to utilize? As instructors we are already checking numerous avenues of contact as offered by our schools and our creation (I create "question" and "let's talk" threads, as well as continuously remind students to be in touch via all the method available) is creating an alternate avenue just giving us extra work? Though none may use it we would still have to maintain and monitor it. As well, many of us [as adjuncts] work for more than one school, which would mean several additional sites to monitor.....any thoughts?

I prefer blogging over tweets because with tweets, students may be inclined to "shoot from the hip" in creating responses. With blogging, the student must spend more time formulating a response which gives more time for reflection and analysis.

I can see how micro-blogging would be helpful in the classroom. Are there any tutorials that would help an instructor understand how tweets work?

Using the framework of Bloom's taxonomy, what would be a good way to begin the introduction of social networking in the classroom? I have introduced social networking in partnership with an online grade reporting tool. Students are required to communicate with the instructor and other students using this tool. I have found that this open forum of communication is helpful in reaching students beyond the physical and time constraints of the classroom.

Using supportive and constructive criticism is a communication trait that I always try to model with my online students. Even when a student is frustrated, I try to give advice that will help them meet their end goal in a very direct and constructive way. Not all students are good at mirroring this behavior. Any suggestions from any of you on how to encourage students to use less negative language (with each other and with their instructor) when they are frustrated?

Frequently the words "ADA" or "ADHD" are used as a metaphor in conversation. When this comes up with a student, do you feel that we should move right to our ADA/504 coordinator? Or should you ask a clarifying question?

As as educator of K-12 educators, I follow trends in the field via Twitter. It has been an invaluable addition to my life. In fact the US Department of Education sponsors a yearly (this is the second year) Connected Educators Month each year - see http://connectededucators.org/ . Teacher often work in silos of isolation (Sheryl Nussenbaum) and Twitter brings them out of the isolation to connect and share with; and learn from their peers. There are some principals on Twitter who state that they want their teachers to connect via Twitter and consider that factor as part of their hiring process. Here are some references that discuss the why and how of Twitter. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb10/vol67/num05/Why-Teachers-Should-Try-Twitter.aspx http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/01/twitter-for-educators-beginners-guide.html http://rossieronline.usc.edu/twitter-for-teachers/

I believe that rubrics can empower students by providing specific guidelines and expectations. When you have it all spelled out in front of you it helps to alleviate stress that often times is associated with posting to public forums and boards.

My classes are quite diverse when it comes to how students communicate with each other. I've been teaching online for just about a year now. Luckily, I have yet to run into any arguments or inappropriate student behavior. However I have noticed that some students are more, well, talkative than others. This was always the case in my F2F classes, but students could see who would converse and who wouldn't in those classes; it's significantly harder to do that online. I see some of the more gregarious students trying to engage the less talkative students and often the more gregarious students get left hanging, questions unanswered by their classmate. I try to step in and help but it's hard if there are specific questions being asked. Is there some way I can help this or is it just a casualty of online learning?

The courses I teach are 6 weeks long. Students get a lot of information during that time and I try to be as available as possible. We have online live chats twice a week but since they are not required, they don't have high attendance rates. I was thinking about creating an IM account and saying that I'll be signed on for questions at a certain time on certain days. Do you think this is a good idea? If so, which IM host is best? I use Facebook chat but that's about it. Do people still use Yahoo! or AOL chat?