Small Things Can Make the Difference Between a Good or Great Distance Educator

In writing to students, no matter the purpose, it can be easy to overlook the importance of positive and motivating words. There is, after all, information and assignment feedback to relay, and this is nearly always the primary focus of the online instructor when writing such items. But the connection between instructor and student in the asynchronous environment can be a fragile one, and it takes 100% focus on the course to keep students engaged and motivated. So, be sure to leave a positive or uplifting line or two in all e-mails, announcements, and assignment feedback; it lets students know it’s worth their time to keep on plugging along, and that their instructor sees something of value in each student, in all the class.

As online educators we are held to a higher standard by our students and thus we want to be as close to perfect as possible in our writing quality. Certainly, not everyone who teaches has a college background as an English major, yet we must strive for the best possible writing. But when it comes to proofreading one does not need know the rules of English, for typos have everything to do with rushing through the writing and nothing to do with knowing how to write. To give our students quality and error-free writing before we post or send a missive first read through each one. And in this read always check for the tone and message being written: Is it what you want them to receive? Does it read with too much emotion? Is there a positive message somewhere? It’s better to take the extra time to do this than to have an “uh-oh!” posted for one or more students to read.

Schools are constantly tossing out emails, often to the entire faculty, sometimes pertaining to a specific department, and occasionally only to you. It can be easy to skip over many of these that don’t seem like they pertain to you (e.g., you are in the English department, and an e-mail is sent out to those who teach Math ... a notice is sent out about the school’s late policy, something you’ve previously read umpteen times): don’t. Not only can you learn more about the inner workings of your school but you may also pick up interesting info, new contacts, and school policies that can be of help. And anytime this happens copy the material, then paste it into a file (possibly labeled “Misc School Info)—but be sure to check the file once per week to see if any of the info might be of current use.

It can be easy to get it out of the way: check early in the morning for students’ emails, postings, and other feedback, then not worry about it until the next day. On the surface this sounds great—but it’s a dangerous strategy. First, students in an online class can be in any time zone around the world, thus they can post at any time. Second, students with no questions or concerns in the morn might have them later in the day. Third, there might be a tech problem with the course of which you need be made aware immediately. And students may need additional info for assignments they are posting later in the day. Checking but once a day is a minimalist approach that can miss important student items and have students feeling you are not actively involved in the course.

We post information for students because it is important; it is never to simply take up space. Yet students are bombarded by this info from us during a course, as well as other texts, messages, and tweets from friends, family, and others. If students see a heading for a main posting, e-mail, or class announcement that reads “ho-hum” it can a red flag to not read the contained information, especially with some students looking only to get a grade and get out. But the use of quirkiness or humor in the subject line can serve as bait to entice, resulting in a higher percentage of students reading what you sent. An example: a reminder about following all directions of an assignment could have “Ohhhnooo!!!!!” or “Question: what happens if a car forgets one of its tires?” This approach works ... guaranteed.

It is an online course, so silence of the distance instructor is what students expect. And there is no doubt: the art of knowing how, when, and what to write in a class and to individual students can result in great connections, clear explanations, and a motivated and engaged class. Yet the phone call has its place in the online course: there will be times when that live one-on-one connection is needed with a student for further explanation of an item or to better understand—and thus help— the student who has not been active or continues to have problems in the course. Also, calls for no particular reason other than to talk about students’ progress in class can have significant plusses in further exciting them about the course and strengthening the instructor-student bond. It can take some time to make all these calls, but for the benefit students and instructor get out of them it is worth every minute.

Nearly every school offering online courses has a plethora of school activities, committees, and courses in which the online instructor can get involved. None of these are required, and many who teach online simply skip over them, not wanting to take the extra time. But doing so sure has benefits. It’s a great way for others in the school to know you . it demonstrates you are a fully committed educator beyond merely teaching a course . professional development is always a good thing . you may learn of new software, programs, policies, and strategies the school plans to offer prior to the items being announced. And one other plus to being involved: it allows for a sense of community, of togetherness, something very common and easy to establish with colleagues in teaching face-to-face, but much more difficult in the online environment.

Courses usually come stocked with a variety of readings and other materials for the students; it’s part of the course syllabus - whether the school or you provide them. But beyond these there is the opportunity—beginning with Day One—to offer info that gives further info on course topics, helps out with various assignments, makes all-important connections between the course subject and its use in “the real world,” and gives students info on tech issues, contacts (for items over which you have no control), and succeeding in the online class. Not only are these of great benefit to the students but they also show you as an online educator who is actively involved in the course and very interested in the students’ learning, they cut down on e-mails and postings to the instructor (asking for assistance or further explanation of X, Y, or Z), and they contribute to keeping the course alive and interesting.

We are listed as “professor” or “instruc-tor” or the like in the syllabus, and students know they must please us—through their work—to earn good grades. Yet there can also be a disconnect where the instructor comes across as being on a plateau far above the students, and this can result in a class that fears the instructor, is less forthcoming to the instructor and/or involved in the course, and is not as motivated in the course. But with the online teacher sharing with the class his or her own foi-bles, mistakes, and difficulties in the course subject there is an immediate “real” connection made with the students: you become human, not simply bits and bytes; students know that everyone can have difficulties with this, that, or the other thing of the course subject; and it’s a great way to have students open up about their own challenges with the course subject, in and out of the course.

A great way to get students more actively engaged in the course is to set up discussion threads where they can contribute beyond the standard course topics. Two excellent activities: (1) Ask them to post websites and other info contributions that relate to the course subject or a topic of the subject. (2) Have the students con-tribute examples from their lives in the work world where something related to the course turned out to be a help or did not work out so well—and why. For the websites and info there will be much contributed from which all can gain, including the instructor, and students will eagerly comment on their classmates’ postings. As for the examples from their lives this will pull in students like flies to honey, as they always enjoy peeking into others’ lives— and this thread also strongly emphasizes the connection between the course subject and its need on the job.

Pasting your pix inside your bio that greets students on Day 1 of a course has long been a staple of many online courses in an attempt to humanize the distance educator. But technology now allows us to go much further (including a video greet-ing to the students in the bio). Yet more can be done to result in a stronger personal connection with the students. Begin each week with an .mp3 audio message or a video message that discusses the week ahead, comments on the previous week, and offers clarification information. Also, the use of so-called “live chats” are becoming much easier to hold with newer software; the instructor’s voice, along with a live webcam of his or her face (optional), can additionally add to the face-to-face classroom feel of an online course. And audio messages/videos can also be made on various course topics, then posted throughout the course.

Students send us “Thanks for the great teaching!”-type e-mails at various times, and it’s important to save these. They are an affirmation of our efforts in the classroom and offer great motivational messages to keep strong our teaching enthusiasm. These “feel good” nuggets are also great to share with one’s faculty manager or department chair, and can be used in applications for other teaching positions. There are also benefits to our teaching quality that most of these e-mails offer: students often detail what was so good about the course they took, and thus we gain insight into the strengths we offer the students. But we must also look at what students don’t mention: is there one of more aspects of our teaching students do not compliment? This type of info can give us pause to revisit our efforts, perhaps resulting in improvements.

We want to build upon our successes with each course we teach, and thus taking away info and suggestions students offer from our courses, as well as insights, info, and suggestions from our efforts (and supervisors’ and students’ evaluations), should be placed in a folder that can be labeled “For Next Classes.” This folder can be further divided into subfolders, such as “Websites,” “Connections to Employment,” “Areas to Work On,” “Ideas to Add,” et cetera. Saving such items gives us a large bank from which to withdraw, resulting in stronger and more enjoyable future courses for the students and us.

REMEMBER: There is the chocolate cake, and there is the chocolate frosting on the cake—but to present the cake with smoothed-out frosting, sprinkles of edible gold, and intricate lettering is a dessert where extra effort is obvious ... and the cake is truly enjoyed!