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Fisher (2005), today’s students are active,
wired, “always on” learners who integrate
social media technologies as a tool to support
learning (pg. 10).
It is also beneficial to make sure your
students are engaged and creating content
as opposed to just merely consuming
content (Seaman & Tinti-Kane, 2013). Other
applications that can be useful to meet this
objective are blogs/wikis, podcasts, and
student streamed videos.
designing courses from a student perspective.
Faculty should not be thrown into the world
of online learning, social media, videography,
and/or educational gaming without a guide to
help them navigate the best way to get to the
desired destination: an engaged student who
is learning.
Instructor presence is essential in the
online environment. Students are coming to
us as veteran users of multiple technologies
and experience in multiple social media
platforms. Students will expect that colleges
and the classrooms will support these
interactions. Faculty who are cognizant of
the need and put forth the effort to establish
a presence in their online classroom will help
create a community, which can then lead to
great student satisfaction, retention and an
improved learning environment.
Adapted from Kilburn, M., Henckell, M., & Starrett, D. (2016)
Instructor Driven Strategies for Establishing and Sustaining Social
Presence. In L. Kyei-Blankson & J. Blankson (Eds.), Handbook of
Research on Strategic Management of Interaction, Presence, and
Participation in Online Courses (pp. 305-327) Hershey, PA: IGI
Global and Kilburn, M.A. (2011). Facilitating Interaction in the Online
Environment. In S. Hoffman (Ed.), Teaching the Humanities Online:
A Practical Guide to the Virtual Classroom (pp. 71-82). New York:
Sharpe.
References
Gunawardena, C. N., & Zittle, F. J. (1997) Social presence as a
predictor of satisfaction within a computer-mediated conferencing
environment.”
The American Journal of Distance Education
, 11(3),
8–26.
Harvard Institute On Politics. (2011).
IOP youth polling: Spring
2011 survey
. Cambridge: Harvard University Kennedy School of
Government.
Kearns, L. R., & Frey, I. How do students experiences differ in online
LIS programs with and without a residency.
Library Quarterly
, 77(4),
359-363.
Kilburn, M. (2013). Student perceptions of instructor interaction in
the online environment.
International Journal of Research in Social
Sciences
, (1)(1), 54-58.
Mazzolini, M., & Maddison, S. (2003). Sage, guide or ghost? The
effect of instructor intervention on student participation in online
discussion forums.
Computers and Education
, 40(3), 237-253.
Moore, M. & Kearsley (2004).
Distance education: A systems view
.
2nd ed., Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Russo, T.C. & Campbell, S.W. (2004). Perceptions of mediated
presence in an asynchronous online course: Interplay of
communication behaviors and medium.
Distance Education
, 25(2),
215-232.
Seaman, J. & Tinti-Kane, H.
Social media for teaching and learning.
Pearson Learning Solutions and Babson Survey Research Group,
Boston, MA.
Thurmond, A., Wambach, K., Connors, H. & Frey, B. (2002). Evaluation
of student satisfaction: Determining the impact of web-based
environment by controlling for student characteristics. American
Journal of Distance Education. (16) 169-189.
Provide clear expectations to learners.
4
In a face-to-face classroom setting,
instructors might hand out an assignment and
then spend three to five minutes discussing
their expectations for that assignment. It
is important not to leave this critical step
out of the online environment. Although it
is tempting to simply use an assignment or
activity from a traditional course, examine
the assignment to see if the instructions are
clearly laid out for an online student.
Setting expectations in advance helps
relieve anxiety for learners. Include details
on topics such as: (a) how attendance will be
taken, (b) honesty policies, (c) no-tolerance
policies for rudeness or incivility, (d) whether
homework submitted past the deadline will
be accepted, and (e) grading policies. It has
been my experience that providing detailed
information up front reduces confusion on the
students’ part- and in turn drastically reduces
the number of emails to the instructor.
Recognize the importance of instructional
design and support.
5
Keeping up with the most up-to-
date trends, apps, and programs can be
overwhelming. Instructional designers
provide an invaluable service helping faculty
develop courses that utilize the most up-to-
date technology effectively and in a strong
pedagogical foundation. Quality assurance
rubrics, such as Quality Matters, provide
guidelines and best practices for effectively
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