{"id":690,"date":"2020-06-24T08:27:41","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T16:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/?page_id=690"},"modified":"2020-06-24T08:27:41","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T16:27:41","slug":"online-presence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/online-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Presence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Communication in online courses<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>We don\u2019t want our students to be unnecessarily overwhelmed.&nbsp; We want them to be challenged by what they\u2019re learning, but we don\u2019t want the words we use or the way we put things on the page to make them feel confused about what to do, when, and how.&nbsp; To this end, we offer the following tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Choose your words carefully.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Ask yourself:&nbsp; What information do my students need to know in order to do what I\u2019m asking them to do?<\/li><li>Give clear, step-by-step instructions.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Try to anticipate what questions your students will ask and then answer those questions <strong>before<\/strong> you post something online.&nbsp; This will hopefully reduce the number of \u201cI\u2019m confused\u201d emails you receive!<\/li><li>Be succinct.&nbsp; You want enough words, but not so many that students get overwhelmed.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Use visual cues to make things clear.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The online environment is very visual.&nbsp; This means that it\u2019s not only our words that communicate, but also how those words are put on the page.&nbsp; Think about the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Contrast:&nbsp; Use contrast to make important things stand out.&nbsp; <strong>Bold <\/strong>is the easiest way to do this.&nbsp; Font size is another example. Color also works, but best to use it sparingly.<\/li><li>Repetition:&nbsp; Bullet points are an example of this.&nbsp; They help the eye to see that things are part of a related list.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Alignment:&nbsp; You can communicate how ideas are related to each other through alignment.&nbsp; This can be seen on the page that you\u2019re looking at right now!<\/li><li>Proximity:&nbsp; Text that is related should be closer together.&nbsp; Add white space when moving to a new topic or idea.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Images<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Images can communicate ideas and also provide a pleasing change of scene on a page.&nbsp; Here are three levels of images to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Decoration:&nbsp; The image is just there to decorate the page.&nbsp; Probably best to avoid this as it usually just clutters things up.<\/li><li>Illustration:&nbsp; The image is related to the content.&nbsp; This is fine to add to your course pages.<\/li><li>Communication:&nbsp; This is when an image encapsulates the information you\u2019re trying to convey.&nbsp; This is the most powerful way to use images.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Presence in online courses<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Students will be more engaged in your course if they know that you\u2019re present and if you encourage them to be present.&nbsp; Here are some ways to model and encourage presence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Include a picture of yourself on your homepage or welcome page.<\/li><li>Post a welcome video so students can get to know you.<\/li><li>If you\u2019re comfortable doing so, occasionally share some personal information.&nbsp; Like a picture of your dog.&nbsp; Or of your messy desk.&nbsp; Or of your morning cup of coffee.&nbsp; Because students aren\u2019t able to see you in person and get to know you from your body language, facial expressions, etc., sharing something of yourself in this way can help to build a connection.<\/li><li>Video lectures help students get to know you a bit more.&nbsp; If you dislike seeing yourself on video, screencasts are also good.&nbsp; Just hearing your voice helps to provide a personal, human touch. Remember that videos and screencasts do not need to be of professional quality as long as they are clear.<\/li><li>Be present in discussion forums.&nbsp; You can\u2019t answer every question or be involved in every exchange, but being there frequently (if briefly) is important!<\/li><li>Require class discussions and other peer-to-peer interactions.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Communication in online courses We don\u2019t want our students to be unnecessarily overwhelmed.&nbsp; We want them to be challenged by what they\u2019re learning, but we don\u2019t want the words we use or the way we put things on the page to make them feel confused about what to do, when, and how.&nbsp; To this end, we offer the following tips:<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/online-presence\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-690","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":691,"href":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/690\/revisions\/691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}