Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

One of the challenges I consistently have is when evaluating my class I see the need to change many things that are the "core" of the class. I am in the Internet marketing industry and it is always evolving at a quick rate. because of this, materials are often outdated every 3 months. When i look at my classes, I always want the best information for the students and having an industry that does this makes it difficult to keep up. Anyone else have these issues?

Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

Other methods of communication

Email is obviously one of the most recognized forms of communication with a class but I tend to use other forms as well. One of my favorites is to use a VOIP service (Skype) to meet up with students whenever they need to have a discussion. I feel that the telephone (with most students) is a pretty uncomfortable situation and not many of them truly "want" to be on the phone. I am curious what other methods people use when contacting students. I have heard the idea of using text messaging but that seems odd to me.

Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

How much external research to create course framework

Whenever I create a course, I always want to include up-to-date information for the industry. My industry is internet marketing so it is always changing. With that being said, how many resources do you typically pull from in classes created? I find myself ultimately using a minimum of four different resources to create any class. -Ron

Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

Motivating through announcements

I mentioned this earlier, but a nice touch that a professor once did to me was have a weekly motivational statement. Instead of giving a motivational story, this professor personalized it and made it unique and it really stuck to me. In my future classes, I am going to have something like this each week of the course that helps the students feel good about what they are doing and keeps them "on track". -Ron Stefanski

Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

A challenge to juggle it all

Sometimes as a professor I find it difficult to juggle all of my different commitments. AFter all, I am working full-time, working on various side projects, and teaching the course. I have always believed in the "lead by example" clause and when students explain they are having hard times I immediately relate to them and explain what my schedule is like and how I manage it. I have had a few "heart to heart" conversations with students and they have said that I really helped them. -Ron Stefanski

Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

Student retention - Methods that work

Something that I am going to begin to do in my next course is to send a message promoting how great the students are doing and motivational words for my students while they are pursuing their degree. I have found that many of my students WANT to do well, but sometimes things happen and they lean on the "giving up" method. -Ron Stefanski

Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

Adult Learning - Not as weird as they may think

One of the best things that I see happen in my courses is when someone who is much older than the other students reaches out and says how excited they are. Surprisingly, twice I have had students who are retired from the work force contact me in Live Chat sessions and strike up conversation. Many of them think that their colleagues are much younger than them but that isn't always the case. Usually I shock the student by telling them how old other students are but it is always refreshing to let them know that they aren't "too old" for… >>>

Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

Prove your expertise

When I was a student, I always wondered, "Why should I listen to this teacher?" I feel like this same attitude has pushed into the way I teach. Although I feel like calming students nerves is extremely important, I think that proving your experience and explaining why you are a professional in this subject is extremely important. When you tell students of your experience and where you have been, it will allow them to understand that what they are learning does cross over into the real world. Ron Stefanski MBA

Ron Stefanski

Discussion Comment

My Instructional Style - It has had positive feedback so far!

I am brand new when it comes to being an adjunct instructor but I consistently have gotten compliments from my students. My theory about teaching is molded from many different personal experience. 1) I attended an online college for my Bachelors 2) I am self taught in the subject I am teaching 3) I always went to school full-time while working full-time I think the above three variables make me very unique in my teaching style because I have seen everything from the students perspective. As I said, I attended an online college so I understand the required course load… >>>