E Course Committee

Post date: Dec 27, 2019 1:25:44 AM

I have been participating in the eCourse committee and acting as the Fitness and Wellness Department's eCourse coordinator. I really enjoy having the opportunity to meet regularly with other online instructors to discuss difficulties, share best practices, and brainstorm solutions to common challenges.

Taking over the coordinator position for our department was slightly challenging. I am very grateful for Joann Pell's support and guidance. She has offered outstanding suggestions and advice to help me. During the transition, I worked on building a positive rapport with the instructors and providing them with resources and support.

One goal of the committee is to help instructors increase their engagement, so I helped lead a eCourse Best Practices Brown Bag Lunch on 2/6/20. I really enjoyed hearing about what other instructors in other departments are doing to support their students. We received good feedback, so we plan on hosting additional Brown Bag Lunches to share ideas and provide support.

On 2/5/20, Beth Eyres asked me to share an engagement strategy that I use in my classes with the committee, so I presented on how I utilize the gradebook messaging system. One of my favorite ways to get students involved is by sending individual messages to each student a few times a week using the gradebook messaging system. These messages open the lines of communication, offer support, acknowledge hard work, and provide information. I have found that my students respond more to individual messages than they do to announcements, so it increases teacher-student engagement and communication. I created some sample messages to demonstrate how I send positive acknowledgements when students are doing a great job, an offer to help when students are struggling, and a check-in message when students have not submitted their work. The strategy was well received so Beth Eyres and I created this handout with directions and samples to share with all eCourse instructors and include in our best practices course.