Vol. 4 Issue 9 April 2024

CITI is pleased to share a new video project about innovative teaching practices called, "The 2 Minute Mentor" .To learn how to impact student success through this project, click the link below.

THE GRAND OPENING IS HERE: APRIL 10TH

The Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction (CITI) and O'Kelly Library are excited to premier a state-of-the-art, digital lab space located on the 2nd floor of O'Kelly Library. Construction for this digital space has taken place over the last nine months and is open for student, faculty, and staff use.

Students began using the lab after their return from Spring Break.

We look forward to seeing you at the Grand Opening!

TECHNOLOGY TOOL OF THE MONTH: MICROSOFT FORMS

"Microsoft Forms is an online survey creator, part of Office 365. Forms allows users to create surveys and quizzes with automatic marking. The data can be exported to Microsoft Excel and viewed live using the Present feature."

CITI BLOGS

The CITI Blog is a collaborative space to explore innovative instructional techniques, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), course design, and instructional technology. This month, Dr. Michele Leverett, CITI Instructional Designer and an ACUE Certified Faculty Member with over 25 years of teaching experience, discusses the importance of and strategies for building social presence in the asynchronous learning environment.

You Are Not Alone: Creating Social Presence in the Asynchronous Learning Space Michele Leverett, Ed.D., Instructional Designer, ACUE Certified Faculty, Instructor of Writing

While I was a student in an asynchronous doctoral program, I looked forward to my weekly Zoom meetings or phone conversations with my Chair more than I did to her written feedback on my dissertation submissions. The latter was standard for the asynchronous program: students submit their work and wait for written feedback within the specified time limit. However, those Zoom meetings and conversations provided me with that extra something that the written feedback alone could not—presence. Social presence is a basic human need; we all need to “connect” to other people. In academia, “social presence involves a level of connectedness among instructors and students that determines how motivated participants are to take an active role in their own and their peers' meaning-making processes” (Whiteside et al., 2014). To translate, it is the extent to which instructors can make their presence felt, build community, and motivate students to engage. When students feel connected to their instructors and their peers, they are more likely to engage in the course. Social presence also increases students’ motivation to learn, improves their ability to understand and retain information, The face-to-face classroom and the synchronous online environment lend themselves well to presence-building. At the very least, students can see their instructors and instructors can host learning activities geared toward creating social presence in real-time. However, what happens when students are separated by location, do not meet at a scheduled time, and may not have the opportunity to interact with their instructor in real-time? This is what can and often does occur in the asynchronous learning space. Because of this, establishing social presence in this environment is more of a priority, and there are practical strategies instructors can implement to achieve this:

• Welcome Video and Introductions: Begin your course with a welcome video where you can not only share who you are and allow students to see you and hear your voice, but you can also incorporate a helpful tutorial on course navigation. When introducing yourself, do not be afraid to let students see who you are beyond the classroom—within reason. Hobbies, family dynamics, and “superpowers” (my personal label for skills and talents) all work well to show students you are a regular person. You can also build an introductory discussion forum that asks students to mimic what you provided in your welcome video. Students can upload their own pics and videos and interact with their peers, which allows them to connect names with faces, discover shared (or diverse) interests, and see tangible proof that they are not alone in your course.
• Personalized Feedback: Feedback is an important part of any course as it helps students gauge their progress in the course and on specific assignments. However, when it comes to presence, the effectiveness of your feedback goes a long way to fostering social presence. Personalize your feedback by monitoring progress and addressing your students individually as the need arises. For an added individualized touch, be intentional about addressing your students by name and a greeting to help them feel connected.
• Consistency: Because the asynchronous platform does not include a scheduled time and place for engagement, providing consistent communication is key. Greet students at the beginning of each week; I call these “Happy Monday” announcements. These announcements also work well as a place to summarize the plans for the week and remind students of important due dates. You can also build a discussion forum for students to post non-confidential questions. Finally, no matter what communication method you use for students, try to respond to inquiries within a 48-hour period.
• Virtual Office Hours: Consider providing students with virtual office hours and the best way to reach you (e-mail, phone, Zoom) during this time. This way, students can interact with you personally which can help to close the proximity gap of the asynchronous platform.
• Multimedia and Interactive Tools: Diversify the multimedia tools you use in your course. Podcasts, videos, and other tech tools can help promote course engagement, encourage peer interaction, and allow students to experience presence in different modalities. While the asynchronous learning platform offers students flexibility, convenience, and a more distraction-free environment, the benefits should not come at the expense of social presence. Building this presence should be a top priority on this platform. Both you and your students will walk away with a richer, more fulfilling experience.