Communication in Online Courses: Repairing Our Virtual Relationships Instructional Strategies for Developing Teacher-Student and Student-Student Relationships in the Online Setting Jennifer Willcutt, Reading & Study Skills The Need for Extended Question & Answer in the Online Learning Environment Greg Dahlstrom, Reading & Study Skills Random Musings: Reflections From a New Online Instructor Julie Stenberg, Reading & Study Skills The Use of Blogs as a Site for Social Interaction and Community Building Ben Kiely, English

The Importance of Community to Student Success Online More engaged students Learning is a collaborative activity College involves acculturation Better student retention

How Can We Establish Rapport Among Students and Teachers in Online Courses? Create a positive presence online Use multiple tools for maintaining communication Help students get to know you and each other Manage communication time

Classroom vs. Online Rapport Introductions and ice-breakers (can involve physical movement) Group activities Oral communication Non-verbal cues Chat informally before, during, or after class Discussion posting introductions Groups feature in D2L Written communication Pictures of teachers and students Computer slang: , he he he, lol!

Setting the Stage Show students who you are Authentic pictures of yourself Use of the Profiles with background info, such as your favorite hobbies, in D2L. Post a welcoming message on the course home page for the first day of class. Show students you are real and want to get to know them

Learning about the Students Have students respond to an Introductions discussion forum. Have students post a picture and fill out their profile. Have students write a short introductory paper called My Reading History.

Personalizing Course Content Develop topics for discussion that may be of personal interest to a majority of class members (minority, immigrant, urban) Choose readings that reflect the age, gender, ethnicity, or SES of your students Ask students to share feelings and reactions to readings with the class

Demonstrate Interest in Students’ Lives Giving your time to students Answer student emails according to your policy Respond to questions via pager Availability via phone Giving feedback on student work Track Changes feature on Word documents – upload file for student review Give detailed, step-by-step instructions for procedures Use video or auditory components to enhance content

Survey Feature Survey student opinions about the course early on! Find out about students’ online experiences and adjust your course Shows students you want to consider their thoughts and opinions Results can be compiled automatically for entire class

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Student-to-Student Interaction Assign groups using the Groups feature in D2L for peer-editing Use of Discussion postings to generate student interaction with the course attendance and participation points!

Timing Communication: Using E-Mail and the Pager Effectively Develop a course policy for your email and pager availability and unavailability Hold voluntary D2L workshops Course policy for how often and specific deadlines to turn in work, post to discussions Conference calls?

The Need for Extended Question & Answer in the Online Learning Environment Greg Dahlstrom, Reading & Study Skills Random Musings: Reflections From a New Online Instructor Julie Stenberg, Reading & Study Skills The Use of Blogs as a Site for Social Interaction and Community Building Ben Kiely, English