Rachel Friedman

Developing a rapport with students and being vulnerable to share stories personally, not be judgmental, listen attentively, and tolerance of another point of view.  REFOCUS techniques on reengagement. 

When students feel like they are a part of something special they are "all in".  When the instructor has enthusiasm about the subject the delivery is better. Students thrive on how engaging the class is.  Does it motivate you to complete tasks? Does the class and instructor embrace high expectations but with a realistic viewpoint.  

It takes insight to be a great instructor.  Understanding the nuances of the student and also their age has a lot to do with it.  The younger they are in Vocational training the more used to following rules in school, however; older adults want to get in train and get out so they can take these new skill sets to a new vocation. 

Communication is essentially online human touch (BETTS). Students knowing that their instructor is approachable and professional is the key to good therapeutic communication.  Having an arsenal of template emails for different purposes is good too. 

Technology is your friend; it is a tool to help you.  The number of resources available for instruction has grown tremendously so you may need to experiment with what works best for you. I like REMIND, Mentimeter, Khan Academy, and quizlet.

In a highly competitive market, online learning has grown not just in the USA but globally.  The ability to take your education anywhere is more convenient than that F2F. 

https://www.statista.com/chart/23695/higher-education-online/

CTE classes are built for students to see pathways they could see themselves doing after high school.  Vocational Ed for adults creates educational experiences for students that build your kinesthetic learning.  With that being said, retention of these students is better for the most part.  When teachers get enthusiastic about what you are learning and connecting it with the real world it helps students focus on their future.  Campus climate and even culture to a certain degree gives a sense of belonging.  How everyone interacts is key.  When you have a good support system in place that trickles down to… >>>

Principles of learning and student goals are intertwined 

Teachers and students together need to make the effort to have success.  These principles lay out the foundation for the course. Also keeping in mind that there is a professionalism called Netiquette "Respect", so each student understands common courtesy and behavior in the online environment. Another very important skill is time management and avoiding the pitfalls that students have over time.  

Nowadays whether you are asynchronous or synchronous technology skills and your ability to sink or swim will be defined early on in the class.  Instructors should size up each student's ability to be successful in the course. Depending on the LMS the school chooses like Canvas or Google Classroom, students taking online courses will adapt.  Since the pandemic we are in a new era of learning.  Even F2F classes have a LMS to post assignments, discussions, and meet scheduled or not.  I have used both LMS systems and I have found that Canvas is much heartier and for the adult… >>>

The online community is a different paradigm in that we need to be in more attentive in our communication.  Instructors need to be clear, professional, and appropriate.  Adult learners have an advantage of bringing their past knowledge to the table and apply that to the online community.  Facilitating this is takes more time than F2F.  In my online classes through CTE, I have clear expectations about having everyone's camera on.  F2F interaction as an instructor you feed of facial expressions, body language and tone of voice. but with online you just have the camera and some students do not want… >>>