Students may be sensitive to difficult topics, honoring those feelings helps to process and model skills.

Marcie Burger I completely agree. Honoring students' feelings builds trust and shows them that their emotions are valid. It is such a great way to model empathy and create a safe space for learning, which is something AI simply can’t replicate. 

-Elizabeth 

Using Zoom for personal meetings with students individually makes a different connection than the online classroom.

Loren Naffziger Using Zoom adds a personal and human touch to the digital classroom. I think it help create  a greater sense of real connection and proximity within the class, all of which can increase the sense of proximity.  An added bonus, when we increase proximity in the online classroom it can help reduce feelings of isolation. 

-Elizabeth 

Every class asked to schedule a 1:1 video call with me - I make up reasons - but main thing is to build a relationship. Students often thank me for meeting with them and tell me no one else does (which I do not believe)

Lisa Durff 

Zoom is such a great way to bring a human touch to the online classroom. I usually set up Zoom calls with students who are having a hard time with an assignment or the research process. It’s a great chance to walk them through things and build a stronger connection at the same time. Another great way to incorporate a human component is just to call a student, especially if they have been absent from the classroom. I will sometimes give students a quick phone call just to check in and see if everything’s okay. I think students are more surprised to get an actual phone call as everything is virtual now. 😀 

-Elizabeth

For me, I like to share personal experiences and stories in short weekly videos that are not syllabus related. These humanize me as the professor, but also show my students that I care about them and am a real person with my own struggles. I like to share about how I started my graduate program at a very difficult time in life. I share about that, then give strategies I used. I have gotten a lot of great feedback from students who appreciated my personal approach and vulnerability. They then feel like they can ask me more questions, share their own struggles, and truly create a classroom community, even while we are virtual and asynchronous. 

Kimber Underdown I love your point about showing that we’re real people with our own struggles! Sometimes students will share in the DQ forum that they’re struggling or that things have been difficult for them. I take that opportunity to post a quick “it’s okay not to be okay” message. I also explain that life can get overwhelming sometimes, and that it’s important to reach out for help when needed. It helps remind them that they’re not alone and as teachers, we are here and support is available.

I think humanizing teaching is vital in the digital environment. We need to acknowledge the highs and lows students and we will have throughout a class. For example, each week I give students an opportunity to share how their week is going. It does not have to be course related, it can be something they are struggling with or something exciting and fun.  I will also jump in and share a little bit, like how my kid was on spring break and soundly beat me at bowling. When I posted that I proudly bowled a 56, the responses were hilarious. I got some bowling tips, sympathy from students who also are not the best at bowling,  and a couple of students asked if I was going to have a rematch any time soon as they wanted to know if I was able to win a bowling game. 😀

-Elizabeth