Humanizing Online Instruction
When I hear people talk about online instruction I often hear how they love the ability to access content whenever they want, wherever they want. This is usually followed by, "but I don't like not being able to interact with my instructor and peers in person." This is fair. Even so, there are many ways to build community in an online course. This is by in large the responsibility of the instructor. In humanized online courses, a phrase developed by Michelle Pacansky-Brock , students who experience a positive instructor-student relationship feel safe and trusted, allowing them to focus on absorbing information in a way that leads to real understanding. There are four principles Pacanksy-Brock states, that lead to learning: trust, awareness, empathy, and presence. Her highly popular infographic, includes 8 elements she suggests instructors apply to their online courses to help humanize it. Below, see the elements and how I incorporate these to my online instruction to he...