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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
It’s easy to slip into routines. Even things that originally seemed novel can become a normal (and not especially exciting) part of your day to day life. For the last year I’ve worked toward creating a life that allows me to basically function on autopilot. It was very deliberate- I wanted to get all my…
I may not write about it on the blog as frequently as I could, but almost daily I tell my husband how much I love working from home and teaching online. It’s fun to get into the classroom once a week and do things traditionally, but if you have the discipline and a solid routine,…
In my first book, Happy Professor, I included a short section about the importance of engaging with your students during the seemingly insignificant (but secretly crucial) 10-15 minutes before class starts. Honestly, I don’t always follow my own advice. Sometimes I have a crisis on my hands at a different school, so I’m dealing with…
Once in a while, when I feel like I could take on more and/or need something new and different in my life, I’ll see out volunteer opportunities. Luckily, I’m occasionally approached by one of the local schools I work for, or a former student, who has me in mind for a small volunteer project and reaches…
This semester I put together what I call a ‘packet’ of discussion topics for my Family Communication course that we, as a class, discussed over the course of the semester. I was really pleased with the way it turned it. As we read about and discussed the concepts in class, we watched relatable videos, tied…