Humanizing: Online Presence in Practice

Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will. -Vernon Howard

MY TEACHINGS EMULATE THIS PRINCIPLE THROUGH THE FOLLOWING PRACTICES:

Here are some of the ways I will make changes to my course to be demonstrate my online presence.

I make changes changes to the course home page frequently.
Include captions with videos that I intend to use in my course which will make it accessible to more learners.
Provide feedback in your Canvas gradebook to make it more meaningful. This can be done through text or video.
Embed an introductory video to introduce myself to make my course more personalized.
Record a video to orient the students to Canvas, learn how to navigate my course, and become familiar with my first module.
Use Canva to enhance my course with visually appealing graphics.
Have the students take a course survey about what they enjoyed about the course.
Create a welcome video to include on my course home page.

This is an introductory video that I created for my humanizing course.

I took a leap of faith and created my first YouTube video. This made me realize the importance of personalizing my course. This push allowed me to move onto a platform that I was not familiar with. Now knowing that I can attempt technology that I was unfamiliar with, gave me the confidence to attempt many other platforms.

This is my welcome video that I include in my "Welcome Module." I believe it personalizes my course and provides important information about the course as well. Having an online presence and engaging with the students provides a way to meaningfully connect.

Now that I am more comfortable using YouTube, I have added more personalized videos throughout my course! Thank you @ONE for introducing me to this technology and pushing me out of comfort zone.

An example of a first week recap announcement.

Being present also means using effective communication skills and communicating with students often. Sending out weekly announcements or a short online video will provide essential information in a humanizing way. Instructors should provide immediate feedback to students to help support them with their coursework. Providing live weekly Zoom sessions allows for personalized instruction and gives students the opportunity to get to know their instructor. Engaging with students and being an ongoing presence in discussion boards encourages meaningful conversations to take place often. Having those meaningful conversations will get students to think deeper and reflect on what they are learning.

Example of a meet and greet activity in the courses first week's module.

I incorporated a meet and greet activity as a way for my students to get to know each other in my welcome module. This is a great way to get students to interact with each other and break the ice. I like this simple approach because it gets conversations going and since the students do not know each other yet, it can break down barriers or shyness that some students may have. My ultimate goal is to get the students engaged with each other and learn more about one another.

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