New Student Orientation
I feel it important to learn as much as I can about each student on their first day in class. I feel it also helps them to learn something about each other and I really encourage good communication with the instructor and other students.
Lois,
This is so true. I like to have "traditional" students meet each other in twos (split up into groups of two) and get some details on each other). Then, I have the groups take turns and introduce their new friend, telling the class some interesting facts. How could we make introductions more interesting and fun online? Could this old trick work online?
Jim
I have found in life that most people like to talk about themselves and also like to hear about other people.
I am sure online is no different than in person when it comes to hearing about other people, especially as they are classmates even online.
In my online classes I have students post their bios on the first day and have them respond to their peers' bios to make the connection with each other. I in turn communicate with each student's bio so they know that I have "heard" their bio.
Hi Carla, excellent tip, as it facilitates not only connectivity among students and with the instructor, but it also helps with buy-in.
Thanks!
Jay
EL102
I agree with that too Carla. I think it is important for the students to get to know each other. That is a great tip to have them respond to each others bios. I believe "knowing" each other will help them when doing the forums.
I feel that it is important to know each of the students as an instructor....but I wouldn't want to make this a big ordeal for the students. I remember being an online student, and I often felt that the assignment to write a biography of myself was a waste of time....I just wanted to get to the coursework. Most of the time, pertinent information about personal backgrounds seemed to come out in discussion. When I wanted or needed to, I would e-mail the other students individually to talk about personal things or ask about interests they shared with me. I believe a brief introduction phase is okay, but most students want to avoid what they would consider busy work.
I really appreciate you sharing your perspective as a former online student. While we (teachers) want to get to know our students more, we also need to keep in mind the reason why our students are in class--to learn the material. Thanks for sharing Lisa.
I encourage pictures. I post a picture of myself and I tell students to post pictures of them and their families. Putting faces to names makes people more "real". I have found students love this. Before I post a picture of me, I will ask students what they would guess my hair color to be, and it is most often black or brown; but I am a blonde!
Hi, I have to agree with you as I am an online student myself and it is nice to read a little about everyone in the beginning!
Thanks for sharing your perspective as an online student. It is nice to have the ideas that we have shared about the usefulness of the biography confirmed by a student!
