Teaching online well is harder than teaching face to face. For some of you, it has meant learning new systems. For others, it has meant redesigning how we will engage the OM material. We are all challenged to find new ways of connecting with and keeping students engaged.
Students are struggling with the same mechanics we are; managing their workload in a new environment. Some of our students are feeling adrift. They have been struggling with the perception that their classes are now just independent studies, that some teachers have ceased teaching, and that we don’t care about them. This perception challenge is real. Here are a few suggestions borrowed from colleagues around the country:
Ask Your Students What is Working We are using different formats for connecting with and engaging our students: MyOMLab, discussion forums, group activities, zoom, videos, email discussions, etc. Some of these work well for some classes and not so well with others. Ask your students how the different formats are working.
Engaging Students and Providing Brief but Frequent Communication Some profs have their students interact with class members or the whole class and make a point to communicate with them daily. If students fail to participate, you can reach out to them to find out what is going on. Ask how they are doing and if they need some help navigating the material. If they know that their participation is being noticed and matters, they will make more effort.
Creatively Connect with Students Have you tried offering zoom office hours or designating some time in zoom classes for social interaction. Or you can use lower tech versions following up with students via email and phone conversations. Students are losing out on all the positive social interaction they usually have with us in and out of class. Contact during social isolation is good for them and us too.