| | | |

How to Use TED Talks to Engage Online Students

Recently I was asked by one of the schools I work for to submit an activity I use in my online classes to engage students. Some sort of Discussion board prompt might have been the most obvious activity to submit, but I chose something a little different that I think impacts students in a more…

| |

The Best Laptops (and Other Office Must Haves) for Working From Home

The nice thing about working from home as an online instructor is that you can create a flexible schedule for yourself and have some much-appreciated freedom.  The downside when teaching online is that you have to use and purchase your own resources: laptops, printer, ink, paper, etc.  Since I’ve started teaching primary online in the…

| | | |

3 Incredibly Easy Ways to Establish a Positive Relationship with Online Students via Email

I’ve written thousands of emails to online students over the years (yes, thousands), and it can be difficult to be sure that what you’re writing is professional, yet human and appreciated by the students you’re working with. Over the years I’ve learned how important it is to put some effort into leaving students with a…

| | | |

The Best Technology for Engaging Students in Online Classes

Teaching online can get a little stale when you’re just using the basics: Blackboard, Canvas, Pearson products, Adobe Connect webinars, etc.  However, the article Building Real Community Online with Free Apps by Dian Schaffhauser offers some options for ‘meeting’ with online students that may build more of a community in your classroom, and may help…

| | | |

How to Start the Upcoming Semester on the Right Foot

Every Instructor has certain icebreakers they like to use on the first day of face-to-face classes, and a preferred way of discussing the syllabus with students, I know I do (and old habits are hard to break). However, if you’re up ready for a change, or think you might find yourself with some extra time…

| | |

How to Create Boundaries When Working From Home

There are plenty of things I could work on in my personal and professional life. However, I pride myself on having finally mastered the surprisingly difficult task of working from home (I might regret saying that as soon as Baby joins us in a few months here..). For the most part, I’m organized, efficient, and…

| | | |

What Every Online Instructor Needs to Post in Their Courses

If you teach college courses online, I can guarantee that the following piece (by online instructor and occasional Happy Professor contributor, Chris Berg, Ph.D.) will have you vigorously nodding your head with every word. Do yourself a favor and send the following article to your students as a Canvas or Blackboard Announcement, or even take…

| | | |

How to Help Students Think Critically in the College Classroom: State, Elaborate, Exemplify, and Illustrate Activity

As I mentioned in a recent blog post, I’ve been working on some face-to-face classroom activities (that I’ve also tried out with my online classes) to help my students answer and analyze questions/concepts more thoroughly in future assignments. After experimenting a little bit, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the results. Any instructor, regardless of what…

| | | |

Automate Everything: How to Save 10 Hours Each Week

Tim Ferriss has talked about how to cut hours from our busy schedules in The Four Hour Work Week, and I took some helpful suggestions to heart after listening to the audio book. However, I’m sure many people, like me, were still left thinking “I don’t know that I could apply this to my job/life.”…

| | | |

The Best Rubrics for Grading Online Discussion Posts

Teaching as an online instructor at a variety of colleges has its advantages- one is that I get to see how different deans, department chairs, etc. run their departments, and most importantly, I can see where there might be some overlap in grading requirements among the schools without too much guesswork on my part. Recently,…