Module 4

Goal(s)
By the end of this module, participants will be able to: 

1. Understand the importance of teacher online presence and its connection to student engagement and motivation.  

1. Identify a list of strategies that support teacher presence in online learning. 
    

Introduction
Online presence is how teachers interact and communicate with students to help them acquire knowledge, develop skills, and provide them feedback that help them to develop mastery. It also contributes to online students’ sense of learning and perception of community. It directly connects to the affective network of the brain that is responsible to engagement and belonging.  

Once a syllabus or a lesson plan is developed, teachers must manage the online course to maintain student engagement, monitor progress and provide mastery-oriented feedback to increase learning outcomes and support students to achieve the learning goals. This happens through teacher presence as a way for teachers to be visible and connected. 
 

Materials

Watch UDL in the Cloud: The Importance of Instructor Presence (1:15 min) 
 
Read Novak and Thibodeau’s UDL in the Cloud, Chapter 4, Cultivating “Instructor Presence” to support Engagement (30min- 1hr) 

 

Watch 5 Tips to Boost Social Presence in an Online Class (4:22min) 

 

Watch  Creating Cognitive Presence (2min) 

 

Explore The Centre for Embodied Wisdom, “13 things to know about instructor presence” and Tarada’s “5 Research-Backed Tips to Improve Your Online Teaching Presence” (Audio versions to be added)

 

Optional Materials 

Read Johnson and Eckert’s “5 Ways to Take Some of the Distance Out of Distance Learning”
OR Listen to an audio version (to be added)

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Read Mayne & Wu’s “Creating and measuring social presence in online graduate nursing courses. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32 (2), 110-114.  
 
Explore the Social Presence Scale Items:

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Choose a reflection prompt and post your answer on Yellowdig

Use your reflection journal to reflect on this week’s material. You can make an audio recording, write up your reflection, or use images and symbols in your reflection. 

OR Guided reflection prompts

• How is teacher presence different in an online setting compared to a face-to-face setting?  

• What “educator presence” challenges and successes have you experienced in your specific setting and with your students? 

• What are tools you can use to support and enhance teacher presence and facilitate discourse in your setting? 

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UDL in Action:  

1. In this module we have identified strategies to help students scaffold their discussions on the online discussion board. Create a handout, online video, blog, or multimedia presentation that defines these strategies for your students to use as a resource for your online course.
OR

2. Create a video about yourself on flipgrip and as https://voca.ro/1hzEYYZoaGzX k every student to create theirs to develop a sense of community.