This document provides tips for motivating and connecting with online learners. It recommends starting with a face-to-face meeting to greet learners and have them introduce themselves. Instructors should help learners find personal relevance in the material, encourage adapting it to their own situations, and connecting it to practical problems. The document also suggests giving timely feedback, including responses in chat and to activities, and using activities to help learners connect with each other by sharing views or responses. Regular motivational videos can help build a feeling of togetherness among online learners.

1. How to motivate and connect
with your learners online
Hróbjartur Árnason
University of Iceland
hrobjartur@hi.is
with Alastair Creelman
A webinar for NVL on 15.6.2020

2. Wlodkowski
on motivation

3. Motivation: Methods and tips
Make sure all
learners feel
included
Start with F2F
meeting
Greet everybody
Get Participants to
introduce themselves
and connect
Create activities
where participants
connect with each
other –
“Respond to 3”
Help learners find
personal relevance
Encourage
participants to adapt
learning to own
situation – especially
important online
Connect learning
content to practical
problems
Encourage
participants to adapt
learning to own
situation
Connect to
experience – in
chat, in activities
In chat / discussions
In activities
Timely feedback
Responses in chat
Feedback to activities

4. Salmon on connection
and building community
Our version for webinars

5. Connections: Methods and tips 1
Give Iots of
support to help
learners navigate
learning
environment
Support (staff) easily
accessible at
beginning
Answer questions fast
and positively
Be creative in helping
students (voice,
video…, connect with
other learner)
Activities (eTivities)
to help students
connect
“Share the view from
your window” /
“Share…..” AND
Respond to 3 others
who have something
in common
“How can you use this
in your situation? –
Respond to 2-3 other
participants”
Be visible
Model wanted
behaviour
Make socialization,
collateral support &
helpfulness part of
the program
Build helping &
sharing into
activities and
course culture
Regular short
motivational videos
– My newest and
best tip
Surprising effect:
Builds feeling of
togetherness and
belonging!

7. Connections: Methods and tips 2
Encourage
sharing
Sharing links
Sharing insights
Sharing learning as part of
process
Be an example
yourself
Mention participants in
responses
Praise positive behaviour
Get participants to
collaborate on
content
mind maps
whiteboard
Padlet
post-it questions
mentimeter
online - collaborative writing

8. How to motivate and connect with your learners online
Hróbjartur Árnason
University of Iceland
hrobjartur@hi.is
Alastair Creelman
Linnæus University
https://acreelman.blogspot.com/
Summary of the webinar with
recording and more reading material:
http://tiny.cc/webinarmotivate