this is something i have always beleived in and hve used day one in my classroom. the importants as to being relational and get to know your students even from behind the computer screen.
I will defininetly be using the idea of having students post a bio on the first day and of emailing them my bio. I think this will help them to see what they may have in common with others as well as providing them an opporunity to be successful right out of the gate.
I learned some additional ideas for how to get to know students through an online course.
Getting to know your students is as important as them getting to know you.
How important it is to establish a presence with the students.
The sucess of the student depends on the online instructor.ythings to keep in mind are turn around time,dead line of grades,grant extentions, policies on plagiarism and teacher work hours.
Important for students to be able to "get to know you". They need to know your credentials as well as some personal qualities that help you be more relatable and respected as an instructor. This is also models sharing behaviors as well as creates a more safe and comfortable learning environment
I think I already know the importance of developing a good relationship with students through face to face teaching, but I learned the extra effort that is going to be needed to build those same relationships over distance.
For you and the students to get familiarized with one another and a understanding of online learning.
It is important to establish your authority and knowledge for students. It is also important to establish a relationship with students. A good way to get to know students is to have one of their first assignments to be a short biography. It is also good to send personal messages to each student to begin to build that relationship. I will contact each student individually to maintain our relationship.
Asynchronous discussions are important to engage students on topics being learned and provide each student opportunity to express their opinion. It is important to encourage all learners and pull them into the conversation.
Synchronous discussions are better with one student or with a small group.
I learned that it is important to post a biography so you can establish your authority by listing your academic and professional accomplishments. I believe it is also important to post some of your interests and hobbies so that your students can know you better and to help build relationships.
I think the suggestion to have students post their biography on Day One is also a great idea, therefore you can get to know your students.
Both student and teacher biographies are important. Discussion forums are also important.
I will send each student a personal message to let them know that I'm interrested inthem as a person and not just a name with a grade. I will also i share important information with them (ie office hours).
Establising your online pressence is just as important as in the classroom. Students have to not only get to know you, but respect your pressence.
I'm definatly going to be incorporating these ideas into my onine class.
It is just as important to establish a relationship with students in an online platform as in a traditional classroom.
The student introduction questions are similar to ones I use in Face to Face classroom. The module did not cover how these might need to be tweaked in online instruction.
I learned that the most effective way to reach students is to post a short biography of myself through video, not just by writing one out and posting it. I like the idea of everyone posting a short biography of themselves to "break the ice" and get us all really involved in our learning. I also was reminded to be sure to monitor the discussions taking place so that I can address any questions quickly and that there isn't too much off topic discussions throughout the chat. I liked the idea of sending personal emails to each student welcoming them to the class, I think students would appreciate that gesture.
Reply to CariAnn Squier's post:I thought that it was getting too personal asking them for a biography, but now that I know the benefits of it I will use it in my courses.
It is very important that you get personal information from your students through their biography, so that you can start a conversation that will make them feel more comfortable. Also it is very important to tell about your personal background and achievments so that students can trust and respect you knowing about your experience.
