Getting communication right can be one of the trickier things for online teachers. On the one hand, with so much less contact with students, it's crucial to help students feel connected to the class. On the other hand, we don't want to overload them with a million confusing messages. Here are tips to help with your outreach to online students:

1. Set reasonable expectations around your response time. In this digital age, some students may expect instantaneous responses - so it's important to be explicit about your response time. A typical statement might look like: Expect a response to emails within 24 hours Monday through Friday, and on weekends at my discretion.

2. Weekly overviews. As a first-time online instructor, my students begged me for a weekly checklist of deliverables. I gave them one, and have done so for students ever since. A weekly overview, which could include an introduction to content, weekly learning objectives, a brief intro video, and/or weekly checklist, can really help students stay organized and decrease stress during this pandemic.

3. Regular announcements/emails. If you've created a weekly overview, it should be easy to copy and paste content into a regular email. Beginning-of-the-week emails and/or recap/summary emails after live meetings or discussions can help students stay connected to class and feel an instructor presence, alleviating anxiety about students "teaching themselves."

4. Aggressively market office hours. Students may not be sure if it's actually OK to visit office hours - so encourage them! Mention it in class, put a link on your home page, bring it up in your weekly email. Some professors have tried "rebranding" their office hours to increase accessibility (Work Help Wednesdays, Power Hours, Happy to Help You Hour, etc.).

5. Try a Course Q&A Discussion on Canvas. Set up a pinned discussion just for student questions, and encourage them to answer each others' questions. In my experience, students have to be consistently redirected to use this resource, but it can take some emails off your plate, especially if you only have to answer common questions once!

6. Send a "Missing You" email. It's impossible to know why student miss class; caretaking, work, physical or mental health concerns all can disrupt studies. If a student has fallen out of touch, consider sending a "missing you" email where you let them know it's not too late to re-engage, and you have their back when they're ready to plug back in. For at-risk students, this may be the bridge they need to get back on track.

Bonus! Special tips for those teaching synchronous, hybrid and asynchronous classes....

Synchronous and hybrid: try using "the first 10" minutes to connect with students - the 5 minutes before and after class starts. Play music, answer questions, do a quick check-in - just use the time to attend to that human connection.
Asynchronous: Turn yourself into a "real person" by giving your students a chance to hear your voice or virtually meet you. You could record and share a short, imperfect video or audio greeting, or host an optional live session (guest speaker, Q&A, review session, etc.), record and share for students who couldn't make it. This is another way to show your presence to students.

- Abby Machson-Carter, SSU Instructional Designer