In online courses it is important to make yourself known and get to know each of the students, encourage everyone to interact, in addition, distance education is the same as traditional education only using different educational media
I believe that introductions in online courses are very important for establishing a good tone, an instructor presence, and rapport with students. I had not considered it as an aspect of authority.
I learned how important it is to be relational and get to know your students even from behind the computer screen.
It's important to be ready for the first interaction with the students, most probably some of them will ask you about your background and experience related to the course.
I learn that, not only is it important for the students to know a little about my professional background but it is also important for me to learn more about them so that I can keep their goals in mind and keep them motivated. Know why a student is here and taking my course is vital to keeping them motivated by keeping their specific goals at the forefront of their minds.
Online instruction requires the same authority and presence as instruction in real life, but is more difficult to achieve, therefore more thought is required. The examples of sharing bios is a great way to go about it.
This module emphasized the importance of getting to know and engage the students and also taught many strategies to keep a presence in the online setting.
I have learned how to effectively begin an online course.
It is important to engage with students so they know who you are in a professional setting and show them that you are taking the time to learn who they are.
As an instructor, projecting your presence helps student to feel more confident in you and helps them to have a more structured learning environment. Both parties' confidence is boosted, and learning is enhanced.
Comment on Holly Voss's post: I agree Holly just pushing that extra step to know your student goes a long way. They will appreciate the effort, and will feel comfortable asking questions.
sharing a short biography between students and instructor will build trust, comfortability and support between each other and will positively impact the E- learning process
You can build a professional relationship with your students through sharing your experience and educational background, and having them share their biography with you.
Making yourself present by asking students to post a short biography of themselves to be shared with everyone.
Building relationships with one another and sharing experiences.
As an instructor it is important for the students to know who you are and your experience to improve the instructor's presence. By doing this, it will increase the relationship between the student and the instructor. This will improve success and retention of your students.
Not only am I aiming to effectively teach my students, I am also aiming to grow as an instructor.
I do agree that projecting you authority is important but being available and keeping open lines of communications with students is by far the most important thing. That's the main difference between in class and online learning - distance and availability of the instructor. Using techniques provided in the module we can lower impact of that distance.
Sometimes projecting your presence can make one believe that they have to dominate the course. However, leading the course while effectively projecting your presence can mean being selective in your responses, as opposed to dominating every discussion post.
We can make good trust with our student even behind the screen.
