Instructor Outreach
Instructor-initiated contact before and during the semester is key for fostering meaningful relationships and building trust with students. Instructors who reach out to their students signal their continued investment in the students' engagement and success--whether that's sending a pre-semester welcome message or a mid-semester check-in message. And, given the various tools available through Canvas, instructors can connect with students in a multitude of ways.
Did you know? Regular substantive interaction (RSI) is what distinguishes distance education courses from correspondence courses per Title 5 definition. So, while we know how crucial regular and effective contact is for our students' success, it's also the law. To learn more about RSI, enroll in any of our MOST Cohorts and/or explore the RSI resources from District.
Pre-Semester Contact
Before the class officially starts, instructors can contact students to welcome them and provide an overview of what to expect. This pre-semester message can also alleviate anxiety students might have about the course by humanizing the instructor. Types of pre-semester outreach can include:
- A welcome message
- A welcome video
- A link to a liquid syllabus (typically created through Google Sites)
These forms of outreach will ideally include information about the class (Canvas usage, first week activities, contact info, links to resources etc.).
Prof. Lauren Wade's Liquid Syllabus
Prof. Kelly Spoon's Welcome Letter
Regular & Effective Contact
An online course is not a "set it and forget it" crockpot recipe. It's important to regularly reach out to students. There are several ways to do this:
- Send out weekly Canvas announcements
- Contact students using "Message Students Who" from Canvas Grades
- Provide individualized feedback to students in Canvas SpeedGrader
- Provide synchronous office hours support via Zoom
- Use Pronto as a group messaging app to contact students
- Follow-up with students who missed last week's deadline. Send a quick message, such as, "I noticed you missed this week's assignment. Is everything okay?" to all the students who didn't submit. This is a quick way to show students you're present and you care.
- Send out a "Getting to Know You" survey to students to learn about them to better support them.
Prof. Kim Lacher uses several strategies in Canvas to stay in touch with her students that need it most.
Prof. Kelly Spoon uses Canvas tools to keep in touch with the students in her hybrid course regularly.
Student-Initiated Outreach
Encourage students to contact you for support by making your contact information crystal clear, providing easy access to that information, and including frequent reminders that encourage students to reach out. Here are some ideas:
- Rather than burying contact info in a long syllabus, include it in various Canvas communications.
- Include a "Let's Stay Connected" section on the Canvas home page and/or at the end of each weekly Canvas module with all the ways that students can get in touch.
- Include a "Let's Stay Connected" slide at the end of each PowerPoint presentation including all the ways that students can get in touch.
- Include a "Staying Connected" page in a course orientation module in Canvas.
- Rename "Office Hours" to "Student Visiting Hours" to encourage students to attend.
Let's Stay Connected!
Here are the various ways to best reach me:
- Office Hours: Mon. & Wed. @ 11:15a in Zoom Room: _______
- Email me @ ___________
- Send me a Canvas Inbox message
- Send me a Pronto message
Messages do slip by me occasionally, so if you've sent me a message and 24 hours have passed without a response from me, please feel free to resend your message.
Canvas Tools for Instructor Outreach
Canvas comes with several outreach tools for instructors to better connect with students:
- Announcements: Instructors can send an announcement to the entire class with information, updates, and reminders. For instance, you can send out a friendly announcement at the start of each week to remind students of the activities due for the week, or you can send out an announcement to inform the class of any key changes (like a new due date for a project).
- Student Responses to Feedback Comments: If you accept assignment or quiz submissions via Canvas, you probably have students
leaving notes in the “comments” area when they submit their work. It is very easy
for us to accidentally miss those comments, which can lead to miscommunications and
confusion. To easily access any student comments on submissions, you can do the following:
- Go to Canvas Inbox
- Click the drop-down menu listed as "Inbox," and change it to "Submission Comments."
- "Message Students Who" & People: Reach out to students individually when they are struggling of course, but for that you can just email them or contact them through the Canvas Grades "Message Students Who.." tool. Prof. Kim Lacher sends out announcements throughout the semester and then proactively reaches out to students who may be in need of additional support using "Message Students Who" and "People" tool in Canvas. In the video below Prof. Lacher shares how she uses those tools in her online ENGL 205 course.