I learned the importance of posting a biography of myself, sending a welcome letter by the end of day one, and sending a personal message to each student by the end of the first week.
The importance of a broad introduction with biographical information for both yourself as the instructor as well as your students. Make sure to have a separate area for "general questions" in addition to the "course based" question area.
Students must feel welcome in order to learn. It is your job as a online facilitatior to make sure that level of trust and relationship is well known throughout your course. Share a personal biography, ask students to do the same, and to comment on at least 2 people's biography from the class. Send check in emails to make sure student know you are there for them and willing to help when needed. Make sure all expectations are known at the beginning of the class. You could maybe post a class syllabus for refrence.
Providing students information about who you are and what you expect is key to ensuring you start off on the right foot. Having students do the same with a bio information session is a good idea.
To gain trust and confidence from your students, you should introduce yourself along with your achievements, both academic and professional on Day One. Continue by taking time throughout the first week to get to know them and reach out on a personal level.
I reach out to my students weekly, whether it be a phone, Zoom or Skype call to check in with them and see if they have any issues or questions that need addressing.
Communicate to students "online office hours" otherwise commit to responding to emails in 24-hours.
An effective way to build student relationship is for students to create a biography, this gives teachers background on individual students.
I learned it is very important that the students know that we are there for them. Communication is essential. And there are many ways that we can communicate with them.
Building relationships looks different in a virtual model. Just because it looks different doesn't mean it does not matter or is not important. We have to be even more intentional about building connections in this type of environment because we are not physically connected. That means reading every post, commenting on what they have said, sending personal messages to them to show that you "see" them.
I was wondering if using a "Mad Lib" form for students to fill out would make it easier for some students to share information about themselves. Perhaps it would be more fun?
I learned that it is important to let your students know about the teacher's credentials and achievements, as well as learning about each individual student in order to build a relationship.
I like the idea of having an asynchronous discussion board area for non-course related discussion. Also- I usually post my biography in the Icebreaker discussion, but many may not read it there. I should send it with my open course announcement.
When your students know you are there to support them, they will be more successful. Get to know them on a more personal level, not just academic. Recently, I have reached out to students' who are not as engaged as others, offering support and help individually.
Reply to Pamela Gabbay's post: I completly agree with you.
Telling the students a little about yourself is important
Posting your biography is a great idea. This gives students general information about you. It may make the students feel more relaxed to open up to you if they have any issues with the online class.
A great technique to get students involved right away is to have them create a short bio about themselves. This gives instructors the chance to identify specific needs, open up conversations, and create personalized messages to engage students.
Seeing students as a person in whole not just someone you need to "teach" also let them get to know you to feel comfortable and not just see you as someone with authority
I leared that you also can be present in an online environment, influence and inspire your students by being actively engaged in conversations and by sharing your biography and ask students to share their biography to get to know each other providing a sense of trust, understanding and respect.
I learned to make your students to feel your presence
