Communicating with Students

However you choose to communicate with your students, it is important to be clear and concise. Online students are often overwhelmed with information to read so your instructions can get lost in the mix.

Consider the following:

• Include a communication policy in your syllabus. Decide where, when, and how you will communicate with students and explain how you prefer they communicate with you.

• If you are uncomfortable with giving students your cell phone number, use an anonymous group texting app such as Remind or Groupme. Students are much more likely to see and respond to a text message than an email.

• Consider sending out a survey in advance asking students about their personal or professional lives, their educational goals, and any challenges to success they may be facing.

• Create a roster of students with names, email addresses, and phone numbers. House this document outside the Online Campus for quick reference.

• If you have an internal communication medium within the Online Campus, use it regularly to post announcements related to course assignments, deadlines, or reminders for synchronous sessions. Encourage students to use this system to also communicate with the class.

• Use discussion forums to engage students in content, assess them on their knowledge, and provide feedback.

• Establish regular online office hours. Let students know when, where, and how you will be available to them for any questions or extra help.

• Create a system for student questions outside of office hours, such as a Q&A cloud-based document (i.e. Google Docs, Office 365) where students can post questions and you can provide answers.

• Provide specific and meaningful feedback on assignments to eliminate any confusion over how students can be successful on future assignments.