Reply to Larisa Crawley's post: I found it so helpful too. I always start my class with briefly showing the students my resume and they get excited and interested!
Reply to Lori Swanson's post:That is so true Lori. I remember how it felt when an instructor included this welcome announcement when I was a student compared to those who didn't!
I share my resume with students at the first session and ask them if they are interested to hear more about any of the experience that I briefly mentioned.
They seem to enjoy this part of the class and engage in the discussion. They ask questions for the guidance in their profession based on my experiences.
One aspect of the discussion board that I have struggled with is providing feedback in a timely manner. The 24-hour turn-around time is reasonable and I need to make this more of a priority.
Post a Bio about you as the instuctor and require one from the students. Read them in a timely manner and get to know them by the end of week 1. Send a message to each student by the end of week 1.
The significance of projecting our presence in the classroom allows opportunities for students to connect and relate to the Instructor. Thereby, increasing student engagement and learning experience.
I thought it was a great point to consider students in different time zones when it comes to setting your office hours. That attention to detail and consideration would really make a student feel seen.
Develop classroom strategies to influence, persuade, inspire students by giving verbal cues, effective listening, and encourage creativity. Students engage better when they feel they have a sense of support from their instructors by maintaining a consistent presence in participating with feedback in a timely manner.
It is inportant to connect to the sudents where as they feel they are supported and that their success is important to you. In doing so you creat a sense of authority, presence, and organization. Its also good to create a biography so that your students can see your education and experience.
I learned that it is a good idea to post a bio and have the students do the same in order to learn about them. Oftentimes, learning about them is helpful to the instructor on what the expectations are and proceed with caution or just having a better understanding of the student helps to be successful and to establish a relationship with each learner.
Include a biography of yourself which should include job history, experiences etc will help build a stronger relationship with the students and they also should share the same regarding themselves. I usually would post some type of short activity as an icebreaker. Also, you should let them know of ones expectations from the start so there is no confusion about what is expected from them.
Having an online presence is important, whether it be via discussion boards or zoom sessions, it is important for the student to know you are available.
The importance of having good classroom management strategies and a supportive relationship with your students in the elearning environment is essential.
I like the idea of posting, or even sending a short bio of myself to the students.
Another method to project your authority is course/module/lesson introductions through (in order of effectiveness):
- Video-clips supported by a printable version of the narration script for each video-clip.
- Audio supported by a printable version of the audio script and a head-and-shoulder photograph of yourself.
- Text supported by a head-and-shoulder photograph of yourself.
- Text alone.
Project a confident presence through personal gestures such as explaining your background. That in conjunction with a good rapport with students will help build you up as a positive authoritative figure in the online classroom.
It is important to really be present with the students online. Students should feel welcomed and invited to to share a brief biography. The instructor should do the same to facilitate an open, supportive relationship with each student.
One challenge I see will be to convince students to read each other's biographies, as well as participate in discussion forums. Similar to face-to-face instruction, some students will rach through the course simply to earn the credits.
In this section I have learn how important it is to give my students insight on who I am and what I have achieved along the way. It is also important for me to learn each one one my students as individuals and build relationships with each one of them. Using these strategies will help my students become successful.
Although not as personal, an online profile should deliver a enough information for the student to get an idea of an actual instructor, which should help them feel at ease in the beginning of the course.
