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PRINCIPLE #1: Effective online teachers are present within their course.
PRINCIPLE #1: Effective online teachers are present within their course.
Caring and mindful online teachers:
- have a social presence, a regular effective contact, that increases engagement, satisfaction, and learning.
- Use digital tools that humanize their online class. They recognize the importance of the affective, the emotions, and therefore create their own videos in Canvas so that their students can hear and see them.
- create interpersonal communications using instructor-to-student, student-to-student and student-to-instructor learning interaction, particularly when teaching diverse groups of students.
Reflections
Reflections
Where I was.
Where I was.
Text announcements were quick and felt more comfortable; I would not expose myself.
I liked the idea of video assignments for my students but it would concern me: I was afraid that students would ask me for technical advice while I could barely do it myself.
Where I am.
Where I am.
Today, sadly, online classes still show a high percentage of drop-outs and equity gaps. This “Humanizing online teaching and learning” course is all about how as a teacher, I can make a difference. I can decrease the likelihood of a student dropping the class by creating high quality interpersonal communications; teacher-student communications, student-teacher communications, as well as student-student communications. I can facilitate a student’s learning experience and eventually decrease an equity gap by creating a feeling of belonging to the team.
How can I create a feeling of belonging? By humanizing my course. So, these 4 weeks have been about transcending my comfort zone, pushing back my subconscious limits and adopting new technology (with its up and down moments :)) in order to learn how to make my online classes all-inclusive community centered gatherings.
Instructor Presence
This course has taught me how to be more engaged and supportive with my online students, and we know that that is what they want!! Making videos, being time conscious when answering students, participating in discussions; all increase the instructor presence, the main reason students won't quit a course.
I have learned to humanize my course with empathy (quick responses that drive connection, and regular Progress Reports), color and video. I realize how my interactions have powerful results on my students.
Where I'm headed.
Where I'm headed.
Since my communication with my students is computer-based, my goal is to become more tech-savvy. Being able to proficiently utilize the different emerging technologies will enable me to center more on my students and create an even more supportive learning environment in which they feel safe, less stressed, and have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and integrate new concepts, knowing that I identify with them and believe in them. I want to discover which pedagogical technique works best in which situation. I would like to add to the "social presence" on which I am actively working presently, a "pedagogical presence" and create more videos in which I actually teach in parallel to the welcome message, or the announcement of the new week's module... Optimal conditions to learning include an affective, a psychomotor, and a cognitive domain.
I would like to share my trips to Salamanca, Spain, with the Study Abroad program of Saddleback College, with my online students. I would love to show the city of Salamanca on video. I would love to show them the places I visit: the University, the Cathedral, the many architectural wonders of the city but also the tapas bars and other restaurants, the flamenco.. I visit places on week-ends or on my Spring break and want to share culture with my students. The videos with my adventures will be my digital storytelling :)
Taking my students virtually with me on my trips (Sevilla, Spain 2019,).
Examples
Examples
A student centered Syllabus
A student centered Syllabus
One of the ways I humanize my course is by improving its design. This is the first contact the students have with the course and I want them to feel as if they were embarking on a journey, a new adventure. Therefore, I integrate colors, pictures and a positive language into my syllabus. I also add the different student services that might make a difference in a student's life, be it a phone number for technical support or information about a food drive...
Videos
Videos
I have learned that my limits can be transcended, yeahhhh!, and that I can make all types of videos, with zoom, flipgrid, adobe spark... And not only that, but I have learned where I can store these videos and ultimately embed them in Canvas.
I use short instructor-generated videos on an almost weekly base to increase social presence in my online classes.
In terms of creating videos, today I look at it in a positive way:
- I consider my lack of experience in the field as a plus that can make me look more human ( my imperfect human side!!!)
- I look at my evolution in the matter as a wonderful journey that enriches me and will impact my students, so it is a very positive experience for me.
An Online Student Mentor
An Online Student Mentor
With the help of the LRC (the Learning and Resource Center) Tutoring Center and the CVC-OEI Grant, online student mentors are available for the online classes of Saddleback College. The Online Student Mentor assists the professor with the time-consuming but critical procedures of an online course.
"According to a study that looked at 2,880 survey responses, online students who had mentors were about twice as likely to pass a course than those who did not! All online faculty are encouraged to request a student mentor. Please note that the number of available online student mentors is limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Please consider taking advantage of this invaluable opportunity to support your students." Kim d'Arcy, Saddleback's director of Learning Assistance
That is what I did as soon as I received this email. I went to a 30 minute training in the form of a workshop that was mandatory in order to have a Student Mentor assigned to my class :) Yeahh This semester I have Kylie as student mentor and here are some of the actions that I see her doing:
- She e-mails the students throughout the semester.
- She posts reminders of the deadlines.
- She assists students with simple, non-technical Canvas issues (e.g., where to log in, how to find assignments).
- She holds weekly “mentor hours” via phone and Cranium Cafe (face-to-face) appointments.
What I thought would attract my students is to have a young Student Mentor they can identify with; someone who addresses the class in a familiar language: "For any questions regarding logistics/navigation of your virtual classroom, just shoot me an e-mail or visit me in "Cranium Café"...
Creating a sense of community by encouraging student-to-student communication:
Creating a sense of community by encouraging student-to-student communication:
Meet & Greet
Meet & Greet
Social Presence is not only a communication flow between the teacher and the students. To create a feeling of community, of cohesion, the students need to have opportunities to know each other and work together. So, of course the best exercise in the beginning of the semester is a "Meet & Greet" or an "Icebreaker". The first step of the assignment is to add their picture to their profile in Canvas, which enables everyone to put a face on a name and become more comfortable interacting with one another. The pictures that the students add show in what way they want to be identified. A picture with a dog shows a dog lover, which will encourage further connections among students. The next step of the assignment is to have them introduce themselves. This creates group cohesion and makes it more comfortable for students during the semester to make Individual Voice activities (videos), to leave comments on other students' videos or blogs... I'm convinced that a higher level of group cohesion increases the students' satisfaction and thus their learning process.
A Discussion Board
A Discussion Board
This semester, I created a discussion board for the students so they would have a spontaneous student-to-student way to communicate without having to include me. The student mentor as well as myself monitor it regularly and I answer occasionally if there is a question no one else can answer :)
I realize that a discussion board is very useful in the beginning of the semester and students do communicate with one other, especially for technical problems. After some weeks, when everyone is settled and more comfortable with the program, the students stop using it though.
So, it has a double purpose for the professor:
- that of bringing group cohesion by helping one another, which is one of the multiple ways to create an online community.
- that of making the professor's task somewhat easier.
Study Groups
Study Groups
I have used the study group feature in Canvas for a summer on-campus class. I saw how they liked to work in groups and do a more independent research on a country. I learned about it in an @One course and couldn't wait to put it into practice. In an on-campus class it was a little easier to create the groups but I intend to do it again in my online class for an extra-credit assignment on Salamanca, Spain.
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