Showing Your Human Side in the Online Classroom - Blog

by Angela August 11, 2023
Showing Your Human Side in the Online Classroom

Dorothy Miraglia, Ph.D.

Dorothy Miraglia, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Academic and Professor Services. She shares her personal experience teaching and working with students in online classrooms in this blog.

When teaching an online class, sometimes it can feel like you’re in a transactional relationship with students. For online learners, the instructor can feel like a mystery. They are a person who grades discussion posts and assignments and responds to student emails without ever being seen. You rarely talk to students by phone or video chat and typically don’t see them in person. Sharing your human side helps to connect with students while keeping everyone engaged. We can share our enthusiasm for the subject, personalities, and experiences.

A student emailed that their nine-month-old son was in the hospital having seizures. The student asked for an extension on an assignment, which I gladly granted. She made up the work and continued to participate in class. During the last two weeks of the course, she went silent. I knew something had to be seriously wrong with her son, so I sent her an email. I asked how he was doing and offered support and encouragement. I reminded her she was a good student and that she submitted quality work. I encouraged her to finish the course because she owed it to herself and her son. Days went by before I heard from her.

When I received a reply, she explained how her son had emergency surgery, which interfered with her submitting a recent assignment.

Next, she wrote, “However, I read your email, and that put things into perspective for me. It allowed me to realize why I decided to return to school. My son needs this more than ever and I can’t let him down. I was ready to quit Wednesday but reading your email helped me. I need to have faith.”

My email put things into perspective for her, and her reply did the same for me. As online instructors, we are given guidelines to follow in the classroom. We must adhere to the late policy and grant extensions only when essential, such as a medical emergency. We must have a professional tone, provide constructive feedback, and be active for a certain number of days in the classroom. It can sometimes be lost that our human side is allowed to show. We are allowed to show empathy and compassion. Students need support from an instructor they cannot visually see. Sometimes all we have as online instructors are words written in text, and they matter significantly.

We must learn to let our personal side show when working with students who take the class seriously and struggle with complex issues outside the classroom. We have all been there, taking on a heavy course load while balancing work, family, and life’s unexpected challenges. Sometimes all a student needs is someone to understand their situation and provide a little faith and encouragement.

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As online instructors, we are responsible for offering students support to help them reach their educational goals. Online learning can be an isolating environment. The classroom can feel silent when there is a lack of enthusiasm, participation, and interaction. One of our roles is to let our human side shine in our classroom, making online learning feel natural and engaging. Students need to know we are not robots. We have feelings and emotions and want the best for them. We care about their success.

We take time each week to provide detailed qualitative feedback to help them succeed. While that may be enough for some students, others need more from us. They need to know we have compassion while still following university guidelines. It is about balancing our human and professional sides to make our work successful in reaching students.

Here are a few suggestions about how you can show your human side:
1. Post your picture. Let students put a name with a face.
2. If your school allows it, post a short, friendly welcome video introducing yourself and your expectations for the class.
3. Email students who are struggling and offer resources and support. If that fails, try giving them a call. You would be surprised how receptive a student can be!
4. Message students who are excelling and give them details on how they are succeeding. This can be the motivation they need to keep up the good work.
5. Post motivational quotes and videos.
6. Post updates in the classroom recognizing everyone’s hard work. Say why you are proud, such as using critical thinking skills on a recent assignment or how the class critically analyzed a discussion question together.
Need more ideas to keep students engaged? Connect with Dorothy.
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Angela

Angela Britcher is a writer, communications professor, and instructional designer. She works with The Babb Group and Edusity.
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