Amulya Vangalapudi

Soft Skills are crucial equally

Students’ learning styles and preferences are impacted by the period in which they grew up. Net Generation students differ from Baby Boomers and Generation X students in a number of ways. These differences require teachers to consider ways to effectively reach these new learners.

To set the tone for the day , One of the most effective things i  can do is to start each day with an activity that allows students to have fun, to be creative, to interact with each other and to begin thinking about what was covered in previous classes or what the topic of the day will be.

I have learned some of the indicators of online learning is for students to communicate not only on an academiclevel, but on a personal level. Working together towards the goals of the course is what they are "supposed" to be doing. It is imperative to have guidelines for students to understand what is expected of them and what types of behaviors are prohibited. Having Clear expectations statement will offer  students with set of rules and regulations as a valuable directive. Because, Sometimes they talk about their personal lives (families, hobbies, jobs), their triumphs and trials with being adistance student (scheduling, technical problems, disagreement with pedagogy), when they seek each other's counselfor other areas of their life (job change, which elective course to take next, family issues), this is the point at which wefeel they are comfortable as a community. This is not to say we will become best friends.   But to have guidelines for them to follow will help students to be on track.

As instructor i  have a big job in assisting students to become successful online learners. The first step is to Assess the learners and to  make surestudents know what it takes to be successful online.  I really like the  following suggestions that will aid the students to be successful in an online course. ALl of these qualities are essential for the vocation they are preparing,

• Encourage them to have Open mind.
• Assess abd ebsyre proper verbal and written Communication  
• Boost their Self-motivation by giving them a strength they may possess.
• Teach them prioritizing so they have Self-discipline
• Teach the importance of Time management now and in the workplace
• Assess Computer competency
• Build Critical thinking
• Monitor the behavior toward each other and encourage Teamwork 

Engaging students in the online environment is crucial, no mater whether the course is Synchronous or Asynchronous.

Having good communication with the students will help the students to know the course expections.

Establishing  guidelines for methods of communication is important, S2I, I2S, S2S. using email, text, and informing students the time frame  to expect a reply to these communication process.

• Require students to post questions and answers to a Frequently Asked  Questions (FAQ) discussion board
• Check email at designated times during the day
• Communicate with students about when you will and will not check email
• Instruct students as to how often they should check email, the discussion board, or other communication areas

 I love this>>>>Spot-checking student learning is a way to continually evaluate the progress of students.  Tools such as  the one-minute question and the "three clear points, three muddy points" paper.  The one-minute paper allows students to articulate what they have learned over a specified period of time in one minute.  The "three clear points, three muddy points" paper allows students to articulate what they know and what they don't know or are unclear about. 

Providing feed back is essential, i see students have good outcomes when I include consistant feedback.

 Peer-assessment is very interesting, must be with anonymity so that the stucents are honest their review and may include more comments. Without Anonymity, students may not provide not honest review.