How can our students use social networking to make necessary contacts that will help them gain employment?

Most of us are already involved in social media to some degree, and it is likely that our students are too. However, I suspect for some students adding a required social media component to a course may be a burden (social media overload, if you will). Recently, I have started using Twitter in my courses simply as an elective part of the class (class reminders, interesting articles, etc). So, my question is this: how do you go about striking the balance between making use of this great new technology and keeping your students from feeling overwhelmed by all of the social media in our daily lives? Lindsay

Ning is a great, but who will pay for it? Being one of the best user-friendly platforms to date is great, but I’m not going to pay their service fees out of my own pocket to teach. Ning is an online platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks. Ning offers customers the ability to create a community website with a customized appearance and feel; feature sets such as photos, videos, forums and blogs; and integration with Facebook, Twitter, Google and Yahoo.

We use Moodle and I can see participation at a glance for each of the classes. When I see a student go silent, I look and see if they are doing it throughout their courses, or in just one. If just one, it may be a content or instructor issue. However, if they are really MIA there could be a legitimate reason. I have had students dealing with a child being shot, a spouse missing in action, death in the family. Because I know there can always be a reason, I make sure to phrase my inquiry so that it is seen as being concerned, not critical. The students are so appreciative. And yes, I'm sure some have played the tragedy card when it isn't true(grandma deaths and final exams) but for the most part the students are honest and will admit if they have dropped the ball.

I create an electronic newsletter for our department on a monthly basis and use this as a forum for getting info to students that I want everyone to know about (new courses, scheduling issues, prepping for internships, etc). I also encourage my faculty to submit short articles on topics of interest to them so that students can start to appreciate their instructor's skills (especially helpful for adjuncts).

What is one easy thing that an online instructor can do when making Word documents that would help those students with a visual impairment?

What are the three main angles that the online instructor should cover when making their course content, including videos, accessible for those with disabilities?

What areas of course components should be accessible to those students with disabilities?

What is universal design in education?

As an online instructor, discuss two basic steps you would take to ensure your course on an LMS is accessible to all students.

What are devices such as touchscreens, pointers and joysticks called?

What is one speech recognition software that is used by many people with or without a disability?

What is one of the first places that an online instructor should go for help in making their course materials accessible?

What are some examples of disabilities covered under the ADA?

As an online instructor, how would you work with the Office of Disability Services?

As an online instructor how would you assess if the rights of a student with disabilities were being violated?

As an online instructor, how would you assist students with disabilities to make the transition to post-secondary education?

As an online instructor, what are some best practices you have developed to ensure your course is accessible to all students?

As an online instructor, what would you do to assist students with cognitive disabilities?

As an online instructor, what assignments might you avoid if you have students with visual impairments?