Embedded Files
Community college students are more likely to come from underserved populations and are inclined to feelings of self-doubt in academic settings. When learning online, our students need to know they have an instructor who cares and is there to support them, and that they are part of a vibrant learning community. Effective online teachers mindfully cultivate their presence at the course level and one-on-one with students. These interactions foster a relationship based on trust, which is the foundation of a learning community.
Reflections
Reflections
Where I was.
Where I was.
When I was a student taking online classes I saw first hand how important it is for a teacher to have a visible online presence. Too often as a student taking an online class it can feel like you are all alone, and it is just you and your computer. I appreciated my teachers that developed an online presence, and it made the learning environment feel much more like a community.
Where I am.
Where I am.
I recognize the importance of teachers having an online presence in the classroom. It is so important to reach out to the students with a welcoming letter inviting the student to participate and feel included, film a weekly video addressing what is to come and what is expected in the following week, and having thoughtful and engaging discussions that bring everyone together to create a supportive online learning community.
Where I'm headed.
Where I'm headed.
I am constantly fascinated at the emerging technology that keeps the online classroom engaging and facilitates the humanizing of the online learning community. I want to stay abreast of all the new technologies and use the existing ones to the fullest in order to ensure that the students do not feel like they are alone in the classroom with just their computer.
Examples
Examples
Online Student Voices
Online Student Voices
This is an adobe spark presentation where I used slides and my voice to demonstrate how various students that I interviewed felt about online learning and what they want from an online learning class.
Icebreaker
Icebreaker
In this example, I demonstrate how to humanize the first introductions with a discussion which includes the students brief bio, and a brief exercise where they upload a picture that is personal to them and write a sentence about it.
Discussion 3: Icebreaker
Sep 25, 2019 7:37pm
Hello and welcome to Library Science 101. I am your instructor Debra Donovan. In this class you will be doing a lot of research where you will find credible, authoritative, non-biased, and relevant sources for each module. It helps if you get to know your fellow students, that way you can ask them for help if I am not immediately available. Even though this class is online that doesn't mean we can't get to know each other. One of the benefits of being an online class is sharing ideas and stories. By getting to know your fellow classmates you will be contributing to the online learning community, and making friends in the process. I look forward to getting to know all of you and reading your mini bios. This week I have two things for you to do:
1. Please watch the video "What is an annotated bibliography".
2. Please answer the following questions and post them to this discussion board by Friday, and reply to two of your peers posts by Sunday.
Give a little mini bio of yourself (Where are you from? What are your hobbies? What are your college plans?).
Why are you taking this class?
What experience do you have using the library and library resources (including print, databases, and e-books).
What do you expect to get out of the class?
*Optional (not part of the graded assignment): upload a picture of your choice, it could be a pet, your child, a plant, a funny sign, or even your favorite painting, and write a short sentence describing who it is or what it is.
This is the love of my life Gus. He was a stray and I took him in when he was one year old last year.
Humanizing Video
Humanizing Video
This example demonstrates how important video is to humanize an online course. It is important to show that there is a human being that students can relate to behind all the lectures, modules, and assignments. It reinforces the fact that the student is not all alone in the online learning environment, and stresses the importance of being a community of learners.
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