1. Does Online Education
Neglect the
Student/Faculty
Relationship?
AMANDA CRINKS & LIBBY REILLY

2. Intro
QUESTION: Have you taught in traditional settings or just online?
 What are the differences and challenges of both?
Purpose of presentation

3. “Provide online office hours as needed”
“The degree of course management must
be balanced with the time and energy
available and demands of the course
structure. It is also dependent upon the
age and experience of both the instructor
and the learner.”
“It was clear that, although
well intended, asking the online
instructor to be available, that is online,
all the time was setting them up for
failure and frustration.”

4. Office Hours/Availability
 Strict office hours
Timely, clear, personalized communications
Utilizing different media platforms

5. “I really enjoyed the
discussion boards
where the professors
wanted your personal
experience. When you
have to quote from
the book it is harder
to relate.”
“There needs to be a
better way to grade
discussion boards. If a
professor simply
doesn’t like what you
put then he can
deduct points.
Discussion boards are
supposed to help
generate conversation
between the students
and create a learning
environment”
“ Professors should
facilitate discussion
and not have students
recite the same
answer in different
ways. There is no real
discussion. Don’t just
ask what is the 14th
amendment, also ask
what it means to the
individual and what
different people in
that era thought of it.”
“ I had a professor
that asked us to place
yourself in the time
period. What would
be your thoughts,
feelings and opinions
about what was
transpiring? It was an
amazing class!”
“ I think discussion
boards need to be an
open forum type thing
where we can all
comment/chat about
and actually discussion
a question instead of
everyone basically
writing the same
answer 34 times”

6. Write your own discussion board or
give an example of a discussion
board question you have used in
your class…

7. Discussion Board
Good
Personal opinion/experience
Problem solving
Generate lists
Bad
Yes/No
Purely factual
Right/wrong

8. “The goal is to empower the
online learner to take
responsibility for managing their
own learning experience and
free the instructor to
concentrate their time and
energy on crafting a truly
engaged learning experience”
“…balance the expectations of
learners …”
“Establish and communicate the
etiquette expectations for the
course exchanges. Also establish a
protocol for holding students
accountable for adhering to the
communications expectations”
“Reminding student[s] of
the class expectations of
conduct, participation, and
the instructor‘s response to
unanticipated problems”
“It is important to provide course goals,
expectations, structure, and related
course/departmental/institutional
policies at the beginning of the course.”
“Choose a conversational tone that makes students feel
comfortable in the online learning environment and
that establishes trust in communication while building a
learning community.”

9. Communication
Using mediums besides textbooks
 Videos
 Case studies
 Additional readings
Managing expectations
Skype help

10. “It would be nice
to get the syllabus
early so that we
could start reading
the chapter and
be ready for the
first week of class”
“Could the writing
center alternate
weekends? By the
time you get going
it’s Friday and
papers written on
weekends have a
slim chance of
getting WC
proofing then
corrections by the
deadline”
“How about
consistency in APA
standards. How
can the same
standard format
be acceptable in
one class and
wrong in the
other?”
“A class in APA formatting”
“Get the syllabus
earlier so you can
start reading”

11. Additional Student Desires
Clear APA guidelines
Early access to syllabus
Extended hours for resources like the Success Center
Additional military accommodations
 Free extensions during missions
Student IDs and email addresses

12. Wrap Up