Comment on Cindy Stevens's post: I agree, but my teaching load has increased, so I'd be sending about 80-100 personal emails. I used Panopto to let each student post a short biography, and posted one of my own. I also found surveys helpful for learning my students' schedules and preferences. One of the reasons online instruction is so common is that it's inexpensive. Pay for online instructors continues to decline, and course size is always increasing. It's also more time consuming for instructors. Instead of saying something to an entire class, you have to answer 37 emails about requirements, deadlines, and other administrivia.
