Steven Muntz

I have learned from this course what I need to improve on with engaging students in an online course.  I have identified what I am doing well already, but there are multiple methods that I can implement that will help with student engagement. I realize that I have to be more active in the weekly discussions.  While I don't have to reply to every student in a discussion post, I do need to reply to a few students each week.  I will focus on replying to students that no other student has replied to. 

The other major area that needs… >>>

I learned that e-mails should be responded to privately and not in an open public forum.  I also learned that I should document emails in case they need to be referred to later.

I learned the differences between asynchronous and synchronous discussions.  Synchronous discussions are live and scheduled.  While asynchronous discussions are not scheduled at a certain time but students and instructor can post to the discussion when convenient for them.

It's important for the instructor and students to post a bio.  This will allow better communication in an online environment and provide a more productive learning environment.

I learned some good approaches to develop good relationships with learners.  Unlike traditional or f2f courses, students can often be located in different time zones in an online course.  An instructor should be sensitive to this when scheduling office hours when students may be in different time zones. Another approach would be to send personal messages related to the course to each student.  This will allow a more one on one communication approach opposed to a group email to all students. 

Students in online courses feel more comfortable when they know that they are being supported, and this can lead to a successful online experience.  As long as you have the same goals for the course, instructors can take different approaches and have different methods to reach the goals. It's important for students to be able to easily navigate the course.