Touch E-Words |
Issue |
Examples |
| Entry |
How do we welcome and orient participants? |
Welcome video clip
Personal student and professor web pages
Emailed orientation letters
Syllabus content scavenger hunt, e.g. "When
is the first assignment due?" |
| Encoding |
How do we put our emotions into "correct" online
code? |
Ask online, "What I heard you say was…Is this correct?"
How do we deal with overuse or casual use
of online vocabulary, such as synchronous vs. asynchronous discussions? |
| Empathy |
How do we reflect back what we "hear" in a message? |
"I know how you feel."
"You sound excited about your new venture."
"It must be tough on you to be in that position." |
| Empower |
What active learning activities can be done by EVERY participant? |
Give control of assignments to learners, e.g. instead of providing
a case study, have them write their own.
In the discussions, have students "tell
a story about when you…."
Have students choose their five best writing
samples to turn in for a grade.
|
| Encourage |
How do we motivate students? |
"Go for it!" comments
Recommend internships
Write a congratulatory email on their successes.
"You seem to have the best grasp of this
material."
Write congratulatory emails on their successes. |
| Effort |
How do we track effort? |
Online data tracking inside courseware.
Check to see how often they have time on
task. Are they "sleeping?"
Sort discussion threads by author to record
number of responses. |
| Enthusiasm |
What words show enthusiasm? |
Congratulations!
Good job!
I knew you could do it! I was impressed
with … |
| Engagement |
How do we pull EVERY student into the action? |
Divide up tasks based on complimentary skills and resources.
Burn a CD with each person’s contribution on it. Specify
who did what on the project. Have each
person submit a "Muddiest Point" about
the reading in a topical posting. |
| Expressiveness |
What are ways to communicate expressiveness? |
"Rad"
"Cool"
"Really rocks"
(examples above from student "voices") |
| Emotional |
What are ways to communicate emotions? |
Discuss online the fears about the online
learning process.
Use descriptive words such as "I’m confused;" "I’m
worried".
Use or share emoticons |
| Examples |
How do we model high touch activities? |
Share adult real life experiences and
feelings, e.g. "Where were you and
how did you feel on 9/11/01?" |
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