7 Steps to Being “Present” as an Asynchronous Online Teacher
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It’s the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.
(Morpurgo, 2012)
Even when you perform no live teaching, as an asynchronous online professor you still play a critical (and creative!) role in supporting and guiding student learning experiences in an asynchronous course.
Teaching presence is a foundational aspect of your role in asynchronous course delivery. According to pioneer researchers in eLearning, teaching presence is the facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes in the asynchronous classroom to guide and support learners to achieve meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001).
An Overview of Ways to Be Present
First, watch this short video for an overview of ways to show “teaching presence” in the asynchronous online classroom. As you watch: What is one strategy you might want to focus on in your delivery?
Creating Instructor Presence (Quality by Design)
Next see these 7 steps for building and maintaining your teaching presence across the semester.
Step 1: Know your eConestoga course
Get to know your course, noticing anything that needs to be updated or fixed before the course shell goes live to students. Get to know your course shell by ensuring
the “Professor/Facilitator Guide” is reviewed,
the Instructional Plan is visible,
the grades breakdown matches the Course Outline,
assessments due dates match the calendar, and
information on accessing digital texts or other “required resources” is available.
Consider adding some details about who you are as a professor (and a human) and how students can reach you. You can include
Professional expertise (a summary, links to professional associations, projects you’ve completed)
Appropriate personal details, fun facts, photos (background, family, hobbies)
Conestoga College contact information and response time (48 hours as per the Conestoga HR Policy). Remind students to use their eConestoga email address.
Avoid simply copying from your resume; select what is most relevant and interesting to students!
Add and embed a video into your first-course announcement or in the “Course Information” section so that students can get an overall sense of what is in the course and what they must do to succeed.
What should students expect to do in this course
Why the course topics matter for the program or industry
If you already have an icebreaker embedded into your discussion board, that’s great! Here are some ways you can get buy-in for this initial class activity.
Explain your purpose
Model a response
Be enthusiastic
Remind about conduct expectations (e.g., class-appropriate responses, culturally sensitivity, no personal identification information)
Note that you can do icebreakers/energizers throughout the semester!
There are plenty of ways to continue to engage students by providing announcements emails that contain helpful, just-in-time information. Here are some ideas for some small, bite-sized ways to support your students’ interest, persistence, and course success.
Optional drop-in or assignment information Zoom meetings
It is important to reach out multiple times to students who appear disengaged. Regularly check students’ course and grades process (using the eConestoga dashboard tools), and reach out by email.
There are many opportunities to give formative and summative feedback to your students over the term. Especially because there are no live meetings, giving a range of feedback is especially helpful to maintain your “presence” in the asynchronous classroom.
Individual
Written, visual, video, or audio feedback on graded assignments
Course and Grades progress updates
Drop-in /one-on-one meetings
Group/class
End-of-week discussion summary
Video with advice for assignments
Explanations of tough questions
Batch emails to students who have not yet submitted assignments
Elan Paulson, PhD, has been an educator in Ontario's higher education system since 2004. Before joining Conestoga as a Teaching and Learning Consultant, Elan was on the executive team at eCampusOntario. She previously served as Program Director and as an instructor in professional education programs at Western University's Faculty of Education. With a Master's in Educational Technology, Elan specializes in technology-enabled and collaborative learning to support diverse learners. She has also conducted research on faculty participation in communities of practice for professional learning and self-care.
