In this section, you'll explore techniques to maintain an online presence within your course and to support students' emotional needs particularly in the online synchronous and asynchronous spaces.

Creating a Social Presence

Creating Social Presence in Your Blended Course (External Link)
- NOTE: This chapter discusses the importance of intentionality when planning student interactions in the online portion of your blended course. It offers information about tools and platforms that can be useful for online interactions, how to instruct students in best practices for online discussion boards, and how to establish clear guidelines for students.
Designing Effective Online Discussions (External Link)
- NOTE: This reading offers ideas and guidelines for creating and managing effective online discussion boards. It discusses making the most of this type of learning experience/interaction, creating explicit guidelines, encouraging participation, and eliciting thoughtful and frequent feedback. Additionally, it includes a helpful guide for writing good discussion questions.
Empower Students to Collaborate Effectively Using Groups (External Link)
- NOTE: Canvas Groups can be an effective way to encourage and facilitate online collaboration and group work. Their use can be particularly effective if faculty want the ability to monitor the work being done in groups. Description from the Module: "The purpose of this module is to help you utilize Canvas Groups with students. You will learn about Canvas Group Tools and how you can teach your students how to use them. You will also find suggestions for how to monitor and encourage student participation."

Supporting Students' Emotional Well-Being

Promoting Online Learner’s Social-Emotional Growth (External Link)
- NOTE: This article emphasizes the importance of aspects of learning other than content knowledge. The author discusses the ways faculty can support a variety of different kinds of student growth: "the cognitive, social, and emotional development of the adult learner."