Midge Elkins

In this module I learned about. TMC.I also was pleased to see that I do some of the techniques currently. I am all about ensuring the students are successful. This is very important to me and the students have stated how much they appreciate what I do for them.

I learned that being more connected to the students the better chance of retaining students. I am probably an overcommunicator which is good for some but not for all the students. It can become confusing. I also learned that I am not a customer service person but a helping profession person. This made me feel good because I always worry that I should be more concerned about customer service. But knowing the students are not customers makes it easier for me to teach the students.

In this module I learned more about online student characteristics. I also learned how to engage and retain the students. As an instructor, I need to stay involved in the discussion questions and be available at all hours to meet the needs of the students. 

I don't use scaffolding much in my course. Although, I can see where it helps as I do teach 3 Research courses. I can see how I can use this, since each Research scaffolds upon the next. So I might want to have further thoughts on how to do this.

Assessment is key for the student. But there are some issues when there are not assessments (as in exams) the students do not take the class very serious. Since I am online, I do not not have assessments as the courses I teach are Research and Leadership. So when I provide feedback I can in the most helpful but explicit terms assess the students. 

Engagement is one of the most important aspects of online learning. I like to keep the class interested as I will add additional videos and socratic questioning. The problem is that many students do not want to cooperate or answer the questions unless they get points for answering them. 

It is hard to explain to them that the exercise is to help them retain the information and be able to use it for their next classes and learn the information. 

i enjoyed this first section. It reminded me of what I knew but took for granted. I have been teaching for a very long time, so this would was the best reinforcement and reminder of what I need to do to stay up on things. It was super.