Projecting Your Presence | Origin: EL102
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Online Teaching Techniques --> Projecting Your Presence
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
It's all about presence and engaging with the distance learners
Providing a biography of yourself allows the students to feel important and included as a person not just as a part of the class. Having the student provide a biography of themselves shows that the instructor is interested in getting o know them and the things that are important to them. Sharing the biographies creates a classroom environment that will allow the students to know each other better and engage more as a class.
I like the idea of creating the biography on myself for the students to have some idea of who I am, that I'm not a robot. But, also creating an assignment that has them writing a biography on themselves and sharing a photo. This also allows them to interact within each of the schools at each of our locations. We currently don't have set "hours of operations" for us instructors to be online aside from being on at some point for 2 hours. This is something that should definitely be discussed amoungst those of us that teach online for our schools and the higher up.
I have learned approaches to building a healthy and professional relationship with my students, and how to make my presence known through online learning.
A bio is a good way to connect and build trust
Connecting with students is important and may take different approaches because it is on-line. One to one interactions do help. Reaching out to each student in the first week of class can set the tone as an involved teacher who is there to help and guide.
One of the key takeaways for me from learning about projecting your presence in an online environment is how important it is for instructors to stay actively engaged and create a personal connection with students. In a virtual setting, it can be easy for students to feel disconnected or overlooked if the instructor is not visibly involved. Simply posting assignments is not enough—students really benefit when they can see that their instructor is present, responsive, and invested in their learning.
In my own practice, I would focus on being consistently present by checking in with students, encouraging participation, and making my communication more personable rather than purely instructional. I think this approach not only enhances learning but also creates a more positive and connected online classroom environment.
As an instructor you definitely have to set the tone by your presence, involvement and willingness to help your students be as successful as possible.
Comment on Kimberly Szadek's post: I think your ninth graders will enjoy making their biographies in a tool like FlipGrid. Learners usually are more invested in a learning task when there is a sense of ownership and authentic expression. Getting to know each other builds community in the class. It humanizes and personalizes the learning experience (especially for online learners) when you know that your instructor and peers are real people who live in a real place and have real emotions, feelings, joys, sorrow, hobbies, skills, aspirations, and goals just like you do. :)
Comment on Andrew Gradall's post: I agree Andrew! The instructor can set the pace for discussion posting by modeling the types of interaction and depth of content they desire for the discussion. As long as they don't dominate it, they will project a guiding presence that will more than likely encourage students to take part in the discussion and put forth more effort to craft a post that keeps the conversation going strong.
Projecting your presence in an online course is vital to your student's success in the course and their confidence in you as an instructor. Unlike in face-to-face courses where you can see and interact with your students, an online course can be isolating for students at a distance. Visible online presence leads to regular and substantive interactions beyond just popping in the course to grade assignments and post new content. Instructors gain trust and interest by projecting their authority and developing authentic relationships with their students. This along with consistently projecting their presence strengthens the connection and leads to higher levels of student motivation and engagement.
As an instructor, I believe learner engagement begins with creating an inclusive, interactive, and supportive environment where students feel comfortable participating and asking questions. I will strive to connect course material to real-world applications, encourage active discussions, and incorporate a variety of teaching strategies to meet diverse learning styles.
I learned that Projecting your presence is the ability to communicate confidence, professionalism and authenticity in both personal and professional settings. A strong presence allows instructors to capture attention, inspire trust, and leave a long lasting impression.
One key takeaway for me is that projecting presence online requires being intentional about communication and engagement. Regular updates, timely feedback, and participation in discussions help students feel supported and connected. I also see the value in using a warm tone and adding short videos to humanize the course.
Traditional classroom strategies that are similar to the online teaching environment include knowing how to influence, persuade, inspire, and energize student. Also, learning how to project your presence as an online instructor include initiating or leading synchronous discussions, oversee projects, participate in discussion, and answer students questions and providing constructive feedback. A method for projecting instructor authority include academic credentials, professional experience, and achievements which can be shared with a brief biography. An effective way to get to know your students is to ask them to post a brief biography about themselves to include their name, academic background, employment history, reason for taking course, expectations of the instructor, and any special hobbies. Posting an instructor biography and student posting on the first day of class helps build a learning community.
Discussion question participation and projecting engagement in different activities doesn't take much for a professor to have their presence noted by students in those online activities or assignments.
Staying engaged and being visible to students will help in online learning.
In this module, I learnt how important it is to maintain a presence in my online learning strategies by engaging with students and not over-whelming the conversation by posting too much in the discussion forum.
Sometimes I sent messages to students I perceived as disengaged, but I was often ghosted. Anyway, I know that connections are relevant, so I also use in-person individual chat to stimulate participation and learning.
