Does sarcasm really have a place in any learning environoment?
No, it is to easy to misunderstand .... Jon
At my institution, we are required to conduct two, 1-hour, synchronous lessons via Adobe Connect. This is a great opportunity to interact with my students, allowing me the opportunity to reveal my passion for my subject area and online education in general. It's also a great chance to develop relationships and spur students on to excellence.
Asynchronous environments are tougher. Perhaps email and texting are indeed the best ways to interject a bit of personality into the online classroom. Has anyone had experience with writing cheeky course content as a way to generate interest? The use of recorded lectures may also do the same.
David,
That's great - I love doing synchronous sessions as well!
Jon
I'm feeling a little sheepish here but I have to ask; what is a synchronous session?
I believe that passion is evidenced by an active level of participation in the course. In the classes where I have been most engaged I get responses from student surveys that talk about how much they learned from reading discussion questions and feedback on papers (& etc). In cases where I helped trouble-shoot disgruntled students in an online environment they felt they were "teaching themselves" and "the instructor did not care". Instructors who are passionate about subjects interject frequently and often.
Valerie,
No problem - its a live or "real-time" session with chat or voice.
Best,
Jon
Great points - thanks for sharing! - Jon
This is a very good conversation starter. As an online student and instructor--I think I have seen and experienced it all.(Well maybe I haven't) :) It is obvious to students when an instructor is passionate about the subject matter AND the success of the student.
What I try to do is give my students a call every other week. This way I not only build a relationship through discussion boards but also by way of phone. I am able to hear in their voice if they are truly grasping concepts. Some instructors may not find this beneficial, however studies have shown contacting your students regulary helps to improve retention rates. In addition, I try to send a weekly newsletter to my students. The newsletter is written on a different level as I take a step back and address them out of true concern. The newsletter is approximately 3/4 of a page and addresses the online concerns of the previous week. The newsletter is something one of my instructors presented and as a student I really appreciated.
Thanks for sharing Penny! - Jon
Sonia:
This is a superb question and one that we seem to address daily. If typing in ALL CAPS is the online equivalent of screaming, how does one project a caring, interested, and eager to help attitude, when all we have is a keyboard?
The answer rests with looking away from the platform. I have found that when we type, we are focusing only on letters on a screen. Images, photographs, animations, video and most importantly the sound of a human voice, especially one that interacts with the listener, is paramount to engaging an online learner.
You can use power point presentation that are colorful and material that is to the point. You might even be able to use resources like web sites that have more pictures or movies that might fit the topic.
Hi
I show my personality and humor along with my excitement on the DB board along with inside our live chats.
Thanks
Alana
Alana,
That is an awesome plan. Good to hear your passion come through.
Shelly Crider
In order to come across with passion while attending online courses there are a few imperative qualities you must posses. You must have great command of the language and properly use punctuation to accentuate your comments. Being a decent writer doesn't hurt either. Of course the essential element is that you must be passionate and knowledgeable on the topic.
Mrs. Hall
Miyuki,
Being passionate about what you teach is a must to really get students to be right there with you.
Shelly Crider
