Tena Crews

Kim, You bring good points to the discussion. It is definitely important for students to under what they did wrong AND why it is wrong. That will help them understand how not to make the same error in the future. I'm not sure what you mean by "the same amount of feedback to everyone" because some students will need more feedback than others depending on their content understanding and abilities. Thanks.

Billie, Thanks for you input. Developing group synergy is a skill that you have obviously developed over the years. You are right that when group members get together and communicate effectively, the group as a whole can produce a much better product. Thanks for all of your contributions in this course.

Billie, First of all congratulatins for teaching for over 40 years! Wow, I bet you HAVE seen tons of changes. I am glad rubrics are helpful to you. They are so essential in consistency and again letting the students know what is expected. Specific, meaningful, timely feedback, as you mentioned, is also important in the classroom whether F2F or online. Keep up the good work!

Toni, You are exactly right that communication can be tricky online. Therefore, it's important to communication clearly in a variety of ways: through the syllabus, synchronously, asynchronously, email, etc. Thanks!

Kim, Yes, communicate what is expected, get involved and vary your communication. This past semester I did a discussion board with my students in my online class in Twitter, Facebook and Blackboard. I wanted to "go to where the student are" - Facebook, etc. Facebook was effective, there was minimal involvement in Twitter and Blackboard had the most involvement with students. Now I know "where they are" - at least in my class. It's important to figure out the best ways to communicate with your students.

Kim & Robin, It is excellent that you agree and support each other in this topic. Students can quickly identify and give bad teaching evaluations to instructors who do not know the subject contents. But, on the other hand, they also quickly identify content experts who do not know how to teach. Both are not positive factors in the classroom.

Kim, You hit on a controversial topic - first name or no first name - there is a difference of opinion. Every instructor has to set their rules and regulations for respect in the classroom (whether online or F2F) and uphold those rules. However, they also need to develop a community of learning that works for them and their students. Each person's "teaching dynamic" many times sets those rules. Thanks!

Toni, Immediate feedback is important to many students. If anything can be designed for such immediate feedback in the online environment (quizzes, tests, synchronous meetings, etc.) so much the better.

Toni, Right on! Relevance is what makes the Millenial generation in particular tick. . .and "get it." However, all students need the connection between content and real life. Dr. C.

Kim, Thanks for adding to the conversation and highlighting that change is inevitable. Change is the only thing constant in life AND online learning! ;-) Dr. C.