Tiffany Huff-Bryant

Emails still have to be kept professional when responding to a student. 

Keeping students engaged is key. Knowing that students learn differently would have to be taken into consideration. Making sure students understand the content is most important.

As an online instructor I feel like because you don't meet in person with your student you still should develop a relationship with them to get to know your students. Offer support with being able to meet or join a live Q&A cohort or have recorded cohort's to explain sections of an assignment just in case students have questions. Also have office hours avaliable so that students can make appointments. 

As an instructor it's important to become familiar with how student's will be viewing the content and it's important to know how to navigate to it just incase they have questions. Technology is a major part of life now especially with being in school or college. 

I've learned that the attention span with this generation is very short. They have electronics and phones that keep them distracted. I try to do group assignments and pause lecture to ask questions about what was just stated or do an activity, I like to see who was paying attention. I put out my expectations early on to inform students to not wear earbuds or be on their phones during active lecture, I also tell them to take notes. 

First impression is everything. If I walk in with stuff falling out of my hand or just right before class starts, i'm sure some thoughts about me will cross a student's mind. If i'm welcoming, and have stuff written on the board, it sets the tone. I always do a icebreaker on the 1st day, I get to know a little bit about my students and what they are willing to share and then I go into telling them about me. 

Planning and Prepping is vital for success in the classroom. I'm happy when I have early access to my course so that I can prepare. I don't feel prepared when things are chaotic or if things were handed to me late and I have to be the one to teach. I think students respond better when things are organized.

I learned that how I show up matters, from the way I dress, the way I speak and talk throughout a lecture or presentation, the way I respond, and the way that I handle conflict. I have to prep so that I can keep myself and the class moving smoothly.  I know that setting the tone of how I want my class to be starts from day 1. If I make myself avaliable students can't complain about not having access to ask questions or address concerns. 

Online communication with students has to be positive and very thorough. Knowing that these students don't meet in person, it's important to do follow-ups with them to ensure a better learning experience.

The role of technology is trending upwards, it's always going to be changing. I actually like the changes but I know some don't. It's actually made my charting quicker and also if medical terminology is built in, it helps with autocorrect. It's important to always engage in it when something new is being introduced so that with continued use it gets better.