Maura Bernasconi

The knowledge and understanding of a course r/t content, techincal areas, requirements before the course opens to best prepare students. 

Managing the online enviornment can be more challenging than managing a traditional classroom in the fact that literally everything you do is written down in an email, text transcript,video recording, discussion board, assignment feedback. It can be scrutinized and needs to be professional, direct but empathetic, firm but sensitive. Never responsd to a student with a negative emotional response, as this is a documented conversation. That being said, because we do interact with students in a written manner, keeping records, emails, assignments etc if an issue arises is a smart idea. Just like documentating a patient assessment is imperative for… >>>

Engaging learners in the online discussion forum can be time consuming but exciting as an instructor. Reading all the posts, keeping track of student responses and who I have responded to (via excel spreadsheet), making sure their content is appropriate, relevant and applicable to course content, performing my own research about the topic discussed- this can all take time. However, probing students by asking additional questions, application questions, stating what I liked most about their response, etc. engages the students and improves confidence and promotes further discussion. This it the "meat" of the course. 

In the online classroom, I am able to project my presence by 

1). Sending out a welcome letter before the course begins

2). Making weekly course overview announcements (what to expect, due dates, my contact info)

3). Posting a biography including both proefssional and personal accomplishments. 

4). Be the first to post in the student lounge, encouraging further discussion.

5). Answer all questions on the Q&A board/email within 24 hours

6). Hold a synchronous teams meeting in the beginning, middle, and at the end of the course to interact with students in "real time"

7). Provide detail, formative feedback on… >>>

Course delivery is the foundation to a successful course run. The instructor should access the course before students to make sure all techincal issues are resolved (links, videos, media, quizzes) and working properly. As an online instructor, I always go through each Module "as a student" first, I listen to the lectures, read the text, review the assignments and quiz. Then, I format a weekly announcement with an overview, to-do list, what to expect in the upcoming weeks, due dates, my contact info, etc. so it is readily available for students if they need me. As the course instructor, we… >>>