A successful method known as V.O.C.A.L. (Visible, Organized, Compassionate, Analytical, and Leader-by-Example) proposed by John R. Savery of the University of Akron (2005) can be applied to increase interaction and communication in your online course.

V - Visible

• Verbal communication via technology

• Be visible online

• Frequent your own course

O - Organized Clear Expectations

• Syllabus is concise and gives all information required for student success in your course

• Assignments contain explanations or clear instructions

• Navigating your course is intuitive

• Course is complete and free of errors that would confuse a student

C -Compassionate

• Culturally responsive

• Understanding of student needs and circumstances

• Course environment is supportive and open

A - Analytical

• Analyze and review student data (User Progress)

• Provide opportunities for student feedback

• Reflect on student feedback and teaching experiences to improve course offerings

L - Leader by Example

• Set the tone for student performance through student-teacher interactions

• Model best practices to assist student learning

• Model professionalism and expectations you want students to use in your course

Infusing these characteristics into practice can promote a supportive, challenging, constructive, rigorous, and effective instructional environment.

As Darrington (2008) and Zsohar and Smith (2008) have highlighted, prompt, relevant, and continuous feedback help contribute to high student satisfaction in online classrooms. The online classroom can often feel somewhat free-form. In response, it is important to provide students with clear expectations from the outset of the class. Expectations should include what they can expect from you as the instructor as well as what you expect from them (Cooper, 2016). For example, you might consider laying out assessment deadlines (how you intend to schedule the class), how and where they can expect communications from you, how much interaction you expect from them in the online classroom, and the conduct or culture that you expect them to follow in your classroom (interactions both with each other and with you).

Failure to communicate effectively and timely with students can lead to frustration, overwhelm, and dissatisfaction not only on the part of the student, but for the instructor. It is important to be sure to include in your syllabus, and then perhaps reiterate in a welcome video, the best way for students to contact you. Magnussen (2008) recommends that, “faculty should set boundaries in order to maintain manageable workloads such as by specifying times to where students can expect prompt instructor feedback ” (p. 282).

You might consider setting very specific timeframes and clearly articulate the best way for students to reach you. For example, “students may contact me by phone or email during office hours for an immediate response, or students can expect a response from me within 24 hours of an email or phone message outside of office hours.”

By clearly articulating when and how students can expect to contact you on a day-to-day basis, you can avoid unpleasant interactions and ensure that both you and your student don’t feel like you are constantly “on-call” for the class.

You should also explain to them what they should expect from you in terms of frequency of interactions. Are you committed to providing feedback on all discussion threads? Will you email regularly? Do you plan to give them a weekly summary of what to expect in the course announcements each week? If you will only use the learning management system email to contact them, they should know this. If you have access to their institutional student email and will contact them in this way, clearly communicate that to them from the outset. If they are not accustomed to checking the email that you will be using, they need to know that this can put them at risk. You should ensure that students know how often you intend to interact and in what ways. This will prompt them to check specific classroom areas (e.g. announcements, discussions, or email) each week and will, in turn, increase their contact with the class.

Even for the novice online learner, email will likely be a familiar tool of communication. Email is an asynchronous communication tool most often used for submitting special requests, such as requests for a deadline extension on an assignment, or help with a specific issue. As such, prompt response is important as students are working under tight deadlines and may be held up while they wait to hear back from you. Students will already have an idea from you about how quickly they should expect to hear from you when they email a question or comment, and it is essential that you hold up your end of the bargain by promptly replying to email inquiries.

Emails can be time-consuming. However, if you have a large class and are replying to many emails a day, you can find yourself working much harder than needed to get back to everyone in the timely manner they have come to expect from you. Thus, it’s important to minimize emails when you can by maximizing your whole class communication. For instance, if you get a question about an assignment by email, instead of replying just to the student, consider creating a discussion forum so that you are reducing replicate student questions and misunderstanding.

While it is important to give your students a clear guideline regarding your availability and interaction style in the class, it is also critical that you tell your students what you expect from them. These expectations should be written clearly into your syllabus and highlighted in the first days of class. Here are some examples of expectations you can include:

• Ability of students to work independently

• Time-management (how much time students should expect to devote to the class)

• Where and how often to check different sections of the class

• Technology requirements and technology literacy needed

• What course materials are needed and where to access them

• Resources – library, IT help desk, etc.

• What to do if you have a technical issue (e.g. site interruptions)

• Behavioral expectations and online conduct

• Expectations for email/discussion etiquette

• Expectations for a syllabus/orientation/attendance verification quiz for the course prior to beginning

• Link to the Student Code of Conduct

• What it means to be “absent” and your policy on participation/attendance

• Any expectations of students outside of the online classroom (face-to-face meetings, field trips, interviews, etc.)

Take a look at this example of an expectations “cheat sheet” developed by Genesee Community College. It offers students a clear overview of expectations and offers a quick reference for resources.

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