Be Findable

Do you have a favorite author? I know I do and most of them have blogs or websites. To find them, I run their names or their book titles through a Google search. And voila there they are! Sometimes, though, they don’t have an RSS feed in place or, because they are extraordinarily busy, do [...]

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Thanking Students for Their Work

When was the last time someone from outside your school thanked your students for the work they were doing?
An eighth grade English teacher, Jessie Thaler, says that being thanked was the most surprising effect of having her students blog. Her students weren’t used to being appreciated for what they do. Being visible and findable online [...]

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Are you the Keymaster?

In the 1984 movie, Ghostbusters, Rick Moranis’ character, the Gatekeeper, was looking for the Keymaster. Cataclysmic events would occur once the Gatekeeper and Keymaster met and preventing such a catastrophe was the goal of the Ghostbusters.  There are times when our online world feels a little like that.  Cataclysmic, catastrophic!
Over the course of my previous online [...]

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Do you have what it takes?

During September we have looked at Online Teaching and Learning, hopefully, from potential students’ and teachers’ perspective. Beginning with misconceptions and determining what it takes to learn OR teach online. Do you have the skills to be successful?
April made us think about the message we are conveying when we use humor. She gave us concrete [...]

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VOCAL Online Facilitators

No, this isn’t about how loud or outspoken online facilitators should be; it’s a model for successful online teaching. One of the first reading assignments in our Facilitating Online Learning Communities course is “BE VOCAL: Characteristics of Successful Online Instructors.” VOCAL is an acronym for

Visible
Organized
Compassionate
Analytical
Leader-by-example

Visibility is about social presence, how much participants are aware of [...]

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Yeah but is it HaHa Funny?

There are hundreds if not thousands of guides on how to be a great online student or teacher. As a matter of fact, PLS offers a course on how to be a better facilitator (DFS). Therefore, my post will be brief today.
Thank you.
…
…
…
Or not.
You see, what we forget is that to interact, diffuse tense situations, [...]

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What is it about online?

When I tell people I work online and work from home, the first reaction is usually “Oh, I would love to do that!” Followed by “You get to work whenever you want AND in your pajamas! That’s challenging to my thinking given I am more likely to be working in a suit jacket than a pajama [...]

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Keeping it Professional – How To

With all the discussion about Social Networking, specifically Facebook and Twitter, how do you keep your interactions and information sharing professional?
The stories about new college graduates’ Facebook pages coming back to haunt them in their job search, is a topic that we as professionals also need to pay attention to. How much sharing is too [...]

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April Wrap Up

“Auntie Em! Auntie Em! I’m home!”
Yes, Dorothy, you are. While one of the main themes of “The Wizard of Oz” is self-sufficiency, we could not complete our courses without the help and support of some very special people outside of our department.

Carla Minks – Marketing Director, is making magnificent efforts to promote PLS Online courses.
Beth [...]

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Technicolor Courses?

From Michele Gill:
A previous post mentioned the movie The Wizard of Oz, and it got me thinking about when I was a little girl and my parents would let me and my little sister stay up late to watch “specials” on TV…but the movies would run far past our bedtime. It wasn’t until fifth grade [...]

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