Shy students are willing to discuss topics if the instructor can find an innovative way to get them involved. What are some techniques you have used to engage shy students? Kathryn

One suggestion I have for holding office hours is to register for an AOL IM name. It is free and students can access you anytime they choose. I find this very helpful, especially if you teach for multiple colleges. You can have one "office" for all your students. Kathryn

Many platforms have e-mails set up within the course (WebCT) while others (E-College) have e-mails sent to a personal e-mail address established by the college. At CFC our e-mails from students will be delivered to our personal account. Will you set up a new personal account for your online classroom to keep it separate from your personal e-mails? Why or why not? What are the advantages to each method? Kathryn Sellers

The most important thing when going to my days as an online learner is recieving feedback. When students submit assignments they afraid to go on to the next one until receiving feedback from the one prior. They need the recognition to let them know that they are on the right track. I hope we are all staying on top of this and providing fast responses to our students.

Typically discussion prompts are provided within the online delivery. These prompts and responses create the online classroom. However, the instructor must play an active role to drive, move, and provide tools to probe deeper into ideas and thoughts in the student responses. If an instructor is absent, the classroom will become as unruly as a traditional on ground one. Students will be off topic and informal if not facilitated properly. Thus, the instructor must take the responsibility of facilitator as a serious job!

I have found that the best way to create a presence in a virtual classroom is the Live Chat. In my first online experience I had office hours, however, the interaction was one email at a time. In a recent experience, I had specific times and a room and the results were fantastic. We spoke about assignments, the syllabus, and other issues... weekly. I believed it helped retention and completing timely assignments, so I recommend this practice!

The biggest hurdle I have noticed among new online learners is computer skills. Many do not know how to type,add a space, and then place a period along with features such as copy and paste and creating margins. These are just a few of the basic skills that we take for granted. So, to help these learners I have created little "how-to" Word files with screen shots. Getting ready must include understanding these skills!!

Are there any suggestions on how to get students to submit work on time in the absence of a late work policy ?

Some of my ground students have said that they are not disciplined enough for online study .Because there are less excuses available for online students , I would think that more discipline is needed by ground students .

I currently teach Microsoft office courses and other classes in the traditional method. We are go to transfer the courses into an Online environment. The difficulty I am having is that I lecture through the course as well as show provide visual work through of what I am lecturing. I have been tasked to create the course while teaching a live class. As I have different levels of student performers it is difficult to go through without having a lot of stopping and student questions while trying to record the class and record all of the strokes at the same time. What suggestions do you have on how I can accomplish this task and make it meaningful for the online student.

For the student who prematurely exits an e-learning progra, what would be a method of "tactfully bringing them into the participation mainstream"?

Are there additional steps one might take to keep the students' comfort level and feelings of stability up when called in to substitute for an online instructor?

Do online students typically take more or less time to complete their total education than the traditional on ground student?

I am confused as to how to lead a small group of 5 or 6 in synchronous discussions with a class size of 30+ students. Do I require only a chosen few for each module to participate? With four modules this would allow for each student to participate in at least one synchronous discussion. Please advise.

Are on-line students more or less dedicated to complete course requirements than on-ground student?

Aren't the general background, innate abilities (or inabilities) related to the learning skills, expectations or commitment of the individual student and the training, background, and teaching skills of the instructor the same? Apparently anything can be put online, it is not precluded that everyone should or will succeed who takes an online course or that what is learned is any better than what is delivered closer by other methods. Technology will improve for delivery but it may not change the learner.

I would say it depends on the students study skills. Online learning requires the ability to work and study independently. An online student must learn how to manage his/her time, dedicate themselves to reading course materials and participating in forum discussions. Usually the online lecture takes the place of the instructor, however in this setting if a student has a question, it must be addressed after the session via email or contacting the instructor. In a traditional class setting, questions can be answered immediately and if the student does not understand the course materials, at that time the instructor can clarify.

I am an online instructor. Students are informed on the first day all emails are returned within 24 hours. I post office hours and days I am available. As much as you would like to be available 24 hours, we as instructors have personal lives and in each new class, there is a student of group of students who feel I am not available when they need help because of the time difference, their own work schedules etc. Is it really possible to be readily available to every student?

I would have to say teaching Medical Billing is a challenging course online. First, a program would have to have numerous "hands on" projects for students to complete; question is, how would you deliver and recieve the finished product?

Module 4 recommends the use of a question board (if the question is not already on the FAQ list). It suggests having students post questions and wait for student responses to their questions. It suggests forwarding the question to the instructor if the questions is not answered within 24 hours. Is this question/answer board different than an asynchronous discussion board? If so, should students ask the instructor questions directly on the asynchronous board?