Covering the business of education and training

The online learning experience is impersonal? Hah!

Students don't have enough individual interaction with professors? Hah! Hah!

Consider these requirements for ALL instructors/professors for EVERY online bachelors degree class they are in charge of.

1. Make all Course-Materials available to each student BEFORE classes begin NOT after, or during the start of the class.

2. Post the coming weekly assignments every week BEFORE the new week...this in addition to providing each student with a syllabus.

3. Welcome each student individually.

4. Provide each student with personal contact information, including alternate email and personal phone numbers. Ask for the same from EVERY student.

5. Provide personal biography information and read/know EVERY student's biographical information. 

6. Engage every student in an open discussion by listening to/reading at least twelve (of about 20) student posts and responding personally to their thoughts, in agreement or polite disagreement, while providing your own examples of the topic being discussed.

7. Be available during prescribed office hours (16 hr/wk) to respond to student questions on the same day as the question or concern is posted.

8. Student questions submitted outside of prescribed office hours must be responded to during the next office hour's time frame.

9.  Students must be reminded individually in two forms, their newsgroup and personal inbox, by the next office hours of the assignment due date. EVERY TIME!

10. Students must receive feedback for EVERY assignment to EACH of their individual newsgroups within the next office hours of the assignment due date. 

11. Feedback for major written assignments must be submitted to EACH student's individual newsgroup within seven (7) days of the assignment due date.

12. Feedback must be given for EACH student EVERY week within seven (7) days of the week’s end.

13. Feedback must include specific commentary and a grade or score on ALL assignments. This feedback should include comments on strengths as well as areas for improvement for all assignments for EVERY student, EVERY week.  

14. Final grades must be submitted for ALL students within seven days of the end of the course.

In a nine-week on line degree course wtih 12-15 students there may be 1500-2000 messages exchanged - feedback, reminder, assignments, discussion give and take.

Yup...I think the on-line education students will get LOTS of INDIVIDUAL attention, more so than perhaps in a traditional F2F classroom where many students may never speak out or be spoken to.

Are online courses really impersonal?

Hardly.