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How to Keep the Human Element in Online Classes

April 28, 2016

User sitting at a computer, participating in an online class.

Photo Courtesy of EdSurge

“Wow. I always thought my online instructors were computers.” 

An online student shared this comment with his instructor after receiving an email from her that included feedback on an assignment. This story, shared with me by the student’s instructor several years ago, resonates with me on an emotional level each time I reference it. It motivates me to ensure online instructors understand how vital their authentic, human presence is to their students, and it conveys how deeply meaningful online classes can be when they are facilitated and designed with a focus on the student experience.

While teaching online certainly changes how instructors communicate with their students, the instructor-student relationship is just as vital to the student learning and engagement in online classes as it is in an offline class.

So what makes an online class feel less like it’s taught by a bot and more like it’s a human-centered experience? The following three principles and related strategies will help faculty keep humans front-and-center of their online courses:

Presence

Teaching a student-centered online class is a lot of work and while faculty may spend a significant amount of time setting up course content, these behind-the-scenes actions do not convey a sense of who you are as a real person to your students."

Read more at EdSurge