I learned that differnet generational groupd are mor comfortable with diverse communication and may repsond to alternate forms of communication negatively. It is important when communicating with online learners to take these difference into accoutn and address each in the way I ommunicate with a class.
- Start Communicating Early & Use Visual Tools. Provide your biography along with a picture of yourself before classes get started; this will help the students put a face to a name and get to know you a bit. You may also opt to create a personal video or audio so students may actually “see” you. This is an excellent way to get the ball running, begin bonding with your students, and have everyone “excited” to start the process of learning.
- Offer Students Multiple Ways of Contacting Instructors Whether via messages (LMS messages function), email, text, or phone call, make sure that you share your preferred method of communication with your students. I always use LMS messages as they provide permanent records of communications. You may provide students with your cell phone number if that is within university/college guidelines. If privacy is a concern, several applications are available through Google Voice that would create free secondary phone number(s).
- Available & Respond in a Timely Manner. Online classes are attractive to all students and specifically to adult students who usually have full-time jobs with heavy work schedules, sometimes even in different time zones. Consider offering student office hours either virtually or at non-traditional times to better accommodate students with job or family obligations. Providing online students with immediate feedback and being highly visible will improve the online experience for learners.
Communicate with students individually and have a verbal conversation and find out about their life outside of school, ask what responsibilities they have and help guide them to create a study schedule and remind them you, the instructor, is available to answer questions and communicate your scheduled availability.
I thought the section where it mentioned what students need temprament-wise in regards to online courses was enlightening. I think its worth mentioning in the syllabus, essentially setting up expectations so students are aware of what they'll need to do and contribute in order to thrive within an online class environment.
Ensuring that the online environment is viewed as an open communication environment is important, but it is also important that the instructor enforces online civility and civil conversation between students and between students and instructor. Detailing guidelines from the beginning of the course for behavior and nettiqute is important.
Various types of students need to function in an online learning environment. The environment should be open and friendly fostering a learning situation where students can participate, use technology, and communicate effectively.
As instructors we should plan accordingly due to the different generational groups in our classroom and develop guidelines and activities in such a way that they may communicate and engage with each other smoothly and effectively.
It is important to not ignore students who are quiet and provide a method to engage them.
Ensuring the instructor is providing opportunities for students to learn from each other and facilitate class engagement.
Different generations uses technology differently and have different expections of how it is used.
Ensuring rules are defined is beneficial for students
As in all communication, the process of online discussions must always move forward. An instructor should continue the string with comments and questions that will encourage feedback and remarks from the students.
These ideas are very helpful when thinking about engaging the quiet student. I really like the idea of having different students be in charge of moderating the discussion. We are working with a blended curriculum in a fast paced program so having enough synchronous time to incorporate some of these ideas will be a challenge.
I think one of the big shortcomings I see in my institution is in the onboarding of students. Many of the points here about communication competency and technical competency appear in my virtual classroom, making me suspect that there is no assessement upon enrollment.
I have learned in this module the importance of communication considering the different generations and their method of communicating. There are many more challenges in communicating online in comparison to F2F teaching, you must reach out to the student if they are struggling or not communicating with you. The students and the instructors must implement many strategies to be successful online including time management, discipline, computer competency skills, and having good writing skills, just to name a few.
I learned that it is imperative for educators to understand generational diversity to help identify strengths and weaknesses in traditional and nontraditional students. It is also important to identify students' technical skills and equip them with the tools they need in order to be effective and successful while attending online courses. Soft skills also play a major role in online learning, such as communication, self-discipline, time management, critical thinking, and open-mindedness.
I have learned it is necessary to comuynicate with your students regularly. I have also learned online classes are not very everyone and they need to be told about the commitment they need to be successful in the online evnironment.
Establishing guidelines and clear communication is important in the online environment.
Speaking of the generational gap, I have experienced students texting assignments, discussions and even emails with truncated words and icons. Signs of the times and yet, not universally acceptable communication depending on the environment, purpose or audience.
To assist in facilitating communication in the online environment, instructors should personalize their communication and encourage interactions between peers, through way of introduction. Timely feedback is critical to student engagement and success. Modeling proper grammar and writing is important as well as providing constructive feedback related to a student's writing abilities. Setting clear expectation for engagement is important.
