Title: Course Overview and Goals
Course: Connecting with Students Online

Overview

This six week course introduces teachers to the tools and strategies needed to connect with students online. The course will investigate best practices in communicating with and encouraging students in an online / blended environment, as well as provide practical instruction in some of the most common course tools provided in Moodle. Participants will be provided synchronous and asynchronous experiences to encourage growth of facilitation skills. Teachers will also work with and discuss a variety of methods for creating student engagement in an online setting.

Goals
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Use the essential features of a pre-existing online course, including:
  - enrolling students
  - messaging
  - forum discussions
  - synchronous chat
  - Elluminate
  - grading and gradebook features
  - simple editing
  - and demonstrate understanding of how these features are utilized to facilitate an online course and to create a community of learners; (what about the gradebook features?)
- Understand best practices in online course instruction using the Minnesota Online Instructor Competencies;
- Describe the unique characteristics of an online learning environment and discuss how it is similar and different from a traditional classroom;
- Develop facilitation skills that foster reflective discussions leading to deeper learning;
- Develop an understanding of how to assess student work and encourage student accomplishment using the tools available in Moodle;
- Identify and discuss issues related to online course management, including copyright, student engagement, diversity, and student time management.
- Develop a student communications plan that can be used to plan for student pacing, and contact.

Course Expectations

Participants are expected to:

* complete selected course readings and activities and reflection activities.
* respond to online discussions in each of the course sessions with a minimum of three substantive postings, as determined by the online discussion rubric.
* complete skill exercises to increase skill in using the Moodle tools and resources.
* complete a communications plan for strategies and management of an online class.
* complete a pre-survey and a post survey.