Communication

The easiest way to get an immediate response from a teacher is to call him/her on the phone. All teachers post a phone number for students to use to get in contact with them on the course homepage. They also post appropriate times to call them, including office hours.

Your teacher does not have your number programmed into his/her phone when you call. All the teacher sees is a number, so you will need to immediately identify who you are when you call (ex. Hi, Mrs. Williams. This is John Smith from Indiana Online in your Biology 1 course. Is now a good time to talk?).

Remember, the teacher is not with you and cannot see what you are looking at, so you need to provide as many details as possible. You also need to understand that there may be times in which the teacher is not able to talk, and you may have to leave a voicemail. Indiana Online teachers are wonderful at returning phone calls within 24 hours.

How to Leave a Voice Message

It is important to communicate effectively with your teacher. The more details you can provide the fewer "back and forth" messages you will have to exchange, which will save you time. Before you call your teacher, decide if you are going to leave a message if he/she does not answer. You may choose to not leave a message and follow up with a text or email - if you decide to do this, hang up after his/her message starts, but before the tone that would record your message.

If you do leave a message, you should leave a detailed message:

• • State your name, which course you are referring to, and a call back phone number (slowly).

  • Ask your question or state the issue.

  • The more detailed you can be (which browser you are using, type of device, Unit, lesson, etc...) the more likely the teacher will be able to assist you immediately.

  • Before ending the message: restate your phone number 2 times... slowly! That way they can write it down, if needed, and call you back.

Canvas is equipped with a messaging system called Inbox. As with Email, in order to best communicate with your teacher we suggest the following:

• • Subject Line: Include your full name, the name of the course, and a 1 or 2 word identifier for the reason for the email in the subject line (ex. John Smith, IOA Biology 1, Mitosis Notes)

  • Greeting: You should include a greeting in your email, using their last name. (ex. Dear Mrs. Williams,)

  • Opening: Start by identifying yourself and the reason for the email (ex. My name is John Smith, a student in your Indiana Online Biology 1 course, and I am contacting you concerning the Unit 1 Mitosis Notes.)

  • Body: In this section, include as much information as possible to help your teacher help you. It is important to remember that they cannot 'see' what you 'see', so the more specific details you provide describing the issue the better. It always helps to let them know what type of device and internet browser you are using, the exact title of the assignment/activity you have a question about, and what the specific issue regards. (ex. "I am using an iPad and the Safari browser to review the Unit 1 Mitosis Notes. I am unsure of question #3. It reads "What is pphase?" Did it mean Prophase?")

  • Closing: Make sure to close your email. You should give some indication of the urgency and when you plan to continue to work on the course. (ex. "I am planning to log back on tomorrow, so any help before then would be appreciated.") The type your name and possibly a phone number of how to contact you (as some teachers may prefer to talk you through the issue rather than emailing).

While most teachers regularly check their Canvas Inbox, you should not expect an immediate response. Many times the student question will require a teacher to log into the system to "look" into it. You should, however, expect a response within 24 hours.

For more information on Canvas Inbox, check out the How do use the Inbox as a student? resource.

Your teacher will provide an email address (teacherfirstname.teacherlastname@indianaonline.org) for you to use when you need to contact them. Your teacher gets a lot of emails. As with the Canvas Inbox, in order to best communicate with your teacher we suggest the following:

• • Subject Line: Include your full name, the name of the course, and a 1 or 2 word identifier for the reason for the email in the subject line (ex. John Smith, IOA Biology 1, Mitosis Notes)

  • Greeting: You should include a greeting in your email, using their last name. (ex. Dear Mrs. Williams,)

  • Opening: Start by identifying yourself and the reason for the email (ex. My name is John Smith, a student in your Indiana Online Biology 1 course, and I am contacting you concerning the Unit 1 Mitosis Notes.)

  • Body: In this section, include as much information as possible to help your teacher help you. It is important to remember that they cannot 'see' what you 'see', so the more specific details you provide describing the issue the better. It always helps to let them know what type of device and internet browser you are using, the exact title of the assignment/activity you have a question about, and what the specific issue regards. (ex. "I am using an iPad and the Safari browser to review the Unit 1 Mitosis Notes. I am unsure of question #3. It reads "What is pphase?" Did it mean Prophase?")

  • Closing: Make sure to close your email. You should give some indication of the urgency and when you plan to continue to work on the course. (ex. "I am planning to log back on tomorrow, so any help before then would be appreciated.") The type your name and possibly a phone number of how to contact you (as some teachers may prefer to talk you through the issue rather than emailing).

While most teachers regularly check their email, you should not expect an immediate response. Many times the student question will require a teacher to log into the system to "look" into it. You should, however, expect a response within 24 hours.

Many students and teachers prefer to use text as a means of communication. You will need to check with your teacher if this is allowable. While a text message may be an easier and quicker way of communicating, rather than email or phone, many of the same principles remain.

• First, identify yourself. The teacher does not have your number as a 'contact' and will not know who is texting them. You should start with your name and the name of the course (ex. John Smith IOA Bio 1)

• Then include as much information as possible in the text to help the teacher help you.

You should not expect an immediate response if you text a teacher so be patient. They will respond as soon as they are able, or have an answer for you. Multiple text messages that are the same content, with the intent of eliciting a response, is a form of harassment and demonstrates a lack of digital citizenship on your part.