Andrea Rimer

I've always enjoyed getting to know my students as individuals and allowing them to know a little bit about me. This helps to provide a trusting relationship in which students feel comfortable coming to me with questions or concerns. I love the idea of using a video or shoulders and up photo. These suggestions make the introductions much more personable.

I had never considered dropping a student from a discussion prior to this. However, the recommendation was that if a student does not heed to previous warnings and consistently strays from the topic, they can be dropped from the discussion. To me, that is important in classroom management if all other attempts to manage the situation were unsuccessful.

I have learned that the LMS a teacher uses has many functions that enable students to be engaged and interact with each other. I plan to explore more of these options the next time I teach a student online. 

I agree it is a good idea and will boost a student's confidence level if they have unlimited attempts to complete a quiz. I have not done this before, but will do so in the future.

I intent to remember that, even if students attend an asynchronous learning environment, it is important to maintain frequent, or regular communication with them so they do not fall behind or feel left out. I do not want to risk any student falling behind because I failed to reach out to them or recognize they were struggling.

My biggest takeaway is that online courses need to be learner-centered, and students must be engaged with each other and the instructor. Also, delivering content in a wide variety of ways will keep the students engaged and enhance the learning process.

Online course transfer of content is not just transferring the online materials from a face-to-face course to an online learning platform. It requires careful planning and consideration to ensure objectives are met and effective teaching and learning occurs. The instructor must also be prepared to engage with students, just as students should engage with each other. This will enhance the learning process. Last, a welcome message and good introduction with information and guidelines is necessary to set the tone. Throught out the course, formative assessments should take place and adjustments made as necessary to enhance the process, and concluding with… >>>

Facilitating teaching and learning in an online environment must be done strategically and communicated regularly to the students. This includes ensuring regular discussions post prompts abide by the syllabus and learning objectives for the course. The instructor must also evaluate teaching and learning throughout the course by reviewing the discussion posts, assignments, exam scores, and feedback from the students. Then, if modifications to the process are necessary, the changes should be made and communicated to the students. For example, if what was intended for the lesson was not achieved and the objectives not met, the instructor must present the information… >>>

Synchronous learning happens in real time and the students and instructor are almost all present (minus students who must be absent). Asynchronous learning occurs when students and the instructor are online at different times. One or a combination of both might be appropriate. The instructor must analyze the objectives of the course and other components, such as demographics (including time zones) to determine what is the most appropriate for that course. Additionally, it is important all of this is decided prior to the start of the course and all students must be aware of the details and expectations for teaching… >>>

Teaching styles vary, as do the types of technology used. After reading the definitions of each style of teaching, I realized that I am a combination of demonstrator, facilitator, and expert. I research what I teach if I am not familiar with the material. I always share examples and often use storytelling to illustrate what I am teaching to the students. I demonstrate nursing skills, but also demonstrate ways to read a textbook (paper or eBook), how to prepare for lectures by taking notes ahead of time, how to take notes in class, how to create concept maps, etc. I… >>>