“Presence” has become a major buzzword in online teaching circles. Authors and speakers repeatedly champion methods and technologies meant to improve instructor presence in the online classroom. But what types of activities best improve instructor presence in students’ eyes, and what do they value? Sharon
Instructors who teach online do not share a physical space with their students, and therefore they need to establish their presence in creative ways. One tool to effectively enhance instructors’ presence is a liquid syllabus. A liquid syllabus is published on a public website, allowing
Why this article is worth discussing: It’s true, every class is unique and every student an individual. New content abounds; interesting bits can be added to the course. But let’s face it: a lot about teaching doesn’t change. Individually and collectively, students make the same
In general, academia tends toward the emotionless, focusing on the content of ideas over feelings. But we are emotional beings, and emotions impact everything we do. Why wouldn’t emotions play into our experiences teaching and learning online?
In fact, we can be intentional in the
I recently received a frantic phone call from a distraught colleague who had just received her student evaluations after teaching her first online course. Tearfully, she shared with me sample student comments such as, “I didn’t get any feedback on my assignments until it was
Over the past nine years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing approximately 200 instructors at my institution develop and teach their first online course. I’ve witnessed instructors excited by the opportunity, but I’ve also observed many who were hesitant or even fearful of teaching online.
The
Faculty presence is a component of the online classroom that’s sometimes overlooked or underestimated by new online instructors, but it is often the most important determining factor for a student’s success and overall satisfaction in a course.
Instructor presence influences the ways that your students interact
▢ Do you reach out to students first before the semester begins? ▢ Do you send a welcome email outside the course, perhaps to college email or another email provided by the student? ▢ Do you post a welcome message for students
What is instructor presence? It’s the way that instructors present themselves to the students in the online classroom. It also involves simply being present to students through the regular posting of course materials, discussion posts, and announcements.
Instructor presence increases student retention because students are more
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