Student Bio's
I use the student bio's for a class that is a 3 hour course for HRM Procedures students. I need to know what their life experiences are to better manage the class. Less experience will require ground up teaching as opposed to more a less a refresher course.
I teach a class called College Success. Many of the assignments are reflection-based, where the students think about their strengths and weaknesses, and consider techniques to maximize their success. Because of this, most of the Discussion Boards are natural biographies, in that they have to share personal experiences and opinions. I think it really helps them get to know each other and I can see personal connections being made on the discussion boards and during the live chats.
Has anyone ever had an experience where students sharing bios was a bad thing?
Great question Kelly. I can only speak for myself and say that I have not had a negative experience with student bios.
Has anyone else experienced anything different?
I also ask my students to post introductions at the start of class. I typically only get about a third of the students to respond. I really think this a great way for them to get to know each other....especially since some of them will be together throughout their degree program. I really liked some of the suggestions discussed in module 2. I like the idea of sending a welcome message that contains my biography, for various reasons, but particularly to break the ice. I also like the idea of giving them some guidance in terms of what to include in their introduction. I really like the idea of having them include their expectations of me, as the instructor, into that. I think the more they feel connected to the class and me as an instructor the more successful they will be in th class overall. These are great ideas. I can't wait to try them out next session.
When I began taking an online college course, every class had a requirement to place a bio. At first I felt uncomfortable telling anything about myself. After the first couple of courses, it became easier and I have gotten to know a few of my classmates better. It also works well because as I continue to take courses, some of the same students that were in one class are now in my current classes. I've already bonded with them. So it's nice to have someone in the class that you already know.
Those are some great ideas Shelly and I am glad you will be able to use them in your future classes. One of the ways that I get my students to introduce themselves is it is the required first posting and if they don't do it they don't get the points for that weeks posting. Because of that, I really haven't had a problem with students unwilling to do it. It ends up being such a great way for the class to get to know each other that it is critical all the students participate.
Thank you very much for sharing with us your perspective as a student! You have confirmed the advantages of the student bio!
I also like when student and faculty bios come with a picture attached. It is nice to be able to put a face to the name.
It is nice to put a name with a face but I also think you need to make sure it is optional in case someone isn't comfortable having their picture on the internet.
I also think that providing them a structure for the bio is a good idea. The student population that I usually instruct does not have much experience in higher education and need a lot of structure. In a traditional setting, I use icebreakers all the time. I am going to try to think of ways to translate some of those games into an online environment.
A structure or guideline on what to include in the biography is very helpful to the online student! Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jennifer.
The courses I teach require students to write their bio. The instructor is required to do so in the syllabus of the course. The students receive a grade for submitting their bio, so they all participate eagerly. I find this is a great way to begin a class.
That is a great way to get students to participate in the biography! Thanks for your sharing!
I usually do a survey-type question in my general study skills class, which is the first academic course students take in my college's program. I ask about family, jobs, age [if people are willing to share], home state, etc. However, I may try sending students off to a separate room with a whiteboard of their own to write down a mini bio, whatever they're comfortable sharing with the class. Then I can do that too. We can all share and learn more about each other.
Since most of these people will continue to share classes with each other, the time spent may go a long, long way toward building that sense of community an online learner so often lacks.
My only problem is lots of students and only an hour class with other material to cover. I'll have to figure out a process and try it. It's a valuable idea.
I think you are thinking about this from the traditional classroom perspective, but the posting is referencing student bios from the online perspective. However, I would encourage you to continue to think of ways of using the student biography in the traditional classroom setting. As you state, in a first quarter class it is a great way for students to get to know each other and build community.
Thanks for your comments!
We are just starting to teach online courses at my institution. Because we are a vocational/technical institution, we are teaching Blended courses, where the students will actually be on campus for the lab/clinical portions of the course. Therefore, they will actually be face-to-face many times and will get to know each other. On the first day of on-campus classes, we usually do a get-to-know-you round table chat with the students, instructors introducing ourselves and students telling about themselves.
I am wondering if we would still need to have students post bios in this case...? Any ideas?
I think there are always new things you can learn about the students that can help build community within the class. I would suggest that you continue the practice the first day of class of introducing each other, than for the first weeks discussion online, post a question that will allow you to learn more about the student--and it would be even better if you can relate that question to the content of the class.
Good luck with teaching online learning Susan!
Actually the instructors learn more about the students abilities and their level of education they ahve already obtained, so the instructor will be able to teach to the class level. It will also give the instructor an idea of the students abilities in writing structure and spelling and grammar understanding. I have had students who do not know how to write properly. They have run on sentences, fragment sentences, using the incorrect word jumping from idea to a different idea within a parsgraph. So asking for a 3 paragraph bio the instructor might be able to identify students who would need extra attention and provide sources to help the student improve their writing skills.
You are right Ruben! Assigning a three paragraph bio is a great way to assess the writing skills of each student, which would be especially helpful if you are teaching a course that has a heavy writing component.
Great thread Beth. I teach a very technical course in computer programming. For many students, this is the first stint with software programming. I always create a Introductions section where I request the students to focus on their experiences with computers and programming. This helps me understand how much I need to "hand hold" the students of a particular session.
