Anita Rao Mysore, Christ University, Bangalore, India

Before my students and I met online, I sent a welcome email to them with an attached motivational quote of a renowned Indian philanthropist, chairperson, professor, and engineer, Sudha Murty: “These are unprecedented times that require every section of the society to rise up to the challenge.” I use Google Classroom as a Learning Management System (LMS), and I had created a welcome message there as well. I named a section “Motivators” and posted materials on online learning tips, study skills, leadership skills, personal energy audits (physical, spiritual, emotional, and motivational), and, most importantly, posters on well-being from the University’s Center for Counseling and Health Services, essential for these uncertain times. I had posted the course materials, including the online texts for the first day’s class and the readings for the second day’s class, before I invited the students to the LMS.

In my first synchronous class, I used a presentation. I had taught these students in the past; therefore, we did not need mutual introductions. For a new online class, I would recommend an activity-based introduction. I began my class presentation with a quote from Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” During the class, my students used the chat-box and the microphone to communicate with me. I shared my course syllabus and course schedule, which included open, online texts and online articles; readings for every date; and teaching strategies. The feedback form from students for the first day indicated that during these uncertain and ambiguous times, my detailed course plan and schedule provided the comfort of structure to students.

I employed an online portfolio with reflective journals as a communicative device with the students, in addition to the LMS and emails. I have divided the class into manageable groups and have appointed a liaison from among the students to work with me and the students. I am using the Online Learning Support Roles (OLSR) framework provided in Nacu, Martin, Pinkard, and Gray (2016) and shared it with my students:

• Facilitator
• Resource Provider: Provide learning resources (how-to guides, links, embedded media, etc.)
• Monitor: Impose or suggest rules of behavior online
• Evaluator: Provide grades or other formal assessments
• Instructor: Directly teach a concept or skill or provide an assignment. Provide prompts and/or feedback to further student thinking or work
• Model: Share own creative work/ process
• Sociocultural-Enabler: Exhibit professional approachability/mentorship
• Audience: View what youth are doing online
• Learning Broker: Connect youth with learning opportunities (people, resources, etc.)
• Encourager: Encourage youth about work or participation
• Promoter: Showcase youth participant work
• Learner: Learn from youth

I seek periodic feedback on my teaching from my students on Google Forms; one of the questions asks them to state the OLSR roles that they have experienced in my class. The reader can connect the aforementioned roles to the actions I have taken for my online class to take off. We are flying smoothly, and I am deliberate in continually using the OLSR roles, so my students can “Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight!”

Reference

Nacu, D. C., Martin, C. K., Pinkard, N., & Gray, T. (2016). Analyzing educators’ online interactions: A framework of online learning support roles. Learning, Media, and Technology, 41(2), 283-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2015.975722