Module 2 Overview

Overview

Welcome to Module 2:  Instructor Presence!

Going online doesn't have to mean going it alone. In the past, online courses have carried a connotation of learning in isolation or at-your-own-pace. Now that technologies have improved and more focus has been placed on online learning, we are quickly learning that (similar to traditional courses) students want to feel connected to their instructor and peers.

The teaching side of this is called "instructor presence" and considers how you, the instructor, intentionally present yourself in an online course as well as how responsive and visible students perceive you to be. Are you approachable? Do you interact with students on a regular basis? Do you give students opportunities to interact on assignments (when appropriate) to build a sense of learning community? These are just a few of the concerns that instructor presence aims to address.

This module focuses on the fact that instructors influence student interactions in a course in a variety of ways, both obvious and subtle. These combine to create a feeling on the student’s part of how “present” the instructor is in the course—i.e., how subjectively they perceive the instructor to be an active, engaged, and responsive part of the online classroom.

It is important to note up front that there is not a “one size fits all” plan for establishing instructor presence. You can’t check a few best-practices boxes and consider presence effectively established. Connecting with students in a face-to-face classroom doesn’t happen automatically, and it doesn’t in an online environment, either; it requires intentional effort on the instructor’s part, continual assessment of what’s working and what’s not from both the instructor and student perspectives, and adjustments along the way. However, in this module we’ll explore some of the strategies and tools that you can lean on to help you establish and maintain a strong instructor presence in your online classroom.

Estimated Time Commitment: You should estimate dedicating 3 hours for this module.


Objectives

  1. Develop a plan for establishing and maintaining instructor presence in your online learning environment.
  2. Select appropriate active learning strategies you could use to engage learners (i.e., learner-instructor, learner-to-content, and learner-to-learner interactions) in a particular instructional context.
  3. Discuss ways to connect with your students in the online learning environment.


Agenda

  1. Read the content provided in the module.

If you recall, in Module 1B we introduced you to the 5 Pillars of Effective Course Design rubric. Implementing the information and practices covered in Module 2 into your own course should put you on track to meeting several of the minimum quality expectations for online courses offered by the University of Missouri campuses, as identified in the 5 Pillars rubric:

  • The instructor welcomes students to the course. [rubric item #13]
  • The instructor provides instructions on how to get started and navigate the course. [rubric item #14]
  • The instructor provides adequate information regarding contact via virtual office hours or other suitable communication mediums. [rubric item #18]
  • Students are given the opportunity to introduce themselves to each other. [rubric item #22]
  • There are opportunities to build learning community through student interaction. [rubric item #24]
  • A clearly communicated timeline and method for returning graded work and providing feedback on assignments is outlined. [rubric item #12]