Communication Plan for Online Teaching

7/29/2019 Communication Plan for Online Teaching

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Communication PlanThis tool outlines common communication considerations and

practices in online learning.

Hanna Coleman | EDTECH 523 Advanced Online Teaching | 03.27.2013

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Table of Contents

Part 1: Routine Administration Tasks.....................................................3

Part 2: Discussion Forum Strategies.....................................................4

Part 3: Discussion Forum Assessment................................................10

Part 4: Management Issues and Strategies.........................................12

Part 5: Parent Communication Strategies............................................16


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Part 1: Routine Administrative Tasks

The tasks below are common routine administrative tasks that need to be completed by the

online teacher. The frequency provided is a suggestion for how often these tasks may need to

be completed and is based on an online teacher having a caseload of 25 students to monitor

progress in addition to content courses.

Routine Administrative Task Frequency

Check and reply to emails from students and parents 2x daily

Check voicemail and phone messages 1x daily

Check text messages [Google Voice or other tool] 2x daily

Contact students under caseload about progress 2x weekly

Contact parents under caseload about progress 1x weekly

Contact students under content courses about progress 1x weekly or biweekly

Check and facilitate discussion boards in content area 2x weekly

Check and reply to discussion boards in help forum 1x daily

Check social media or forums 1x weekly

Send out announcements via forum or email 1x weekly

Monitor/check links and resources in content area 1x weekly [prior to student use]

Log [in written form] all communication with parents andstudents under caseload

2x weekly


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Part 2: Discussion Forum Strategies

The strategies below are suggested activities for getting started in and facilitating discussion

forums. The strategies include: Personal Introduction Statement, Icebreaker Activity, Critical

Thinking Prompts, Discussion Guides, and Sample Discussion Forum Responses.

1. Personal Introduction Statement

This personal introduction statement was created using the Glogster.edu program. The link to

view and embed: http://twchcoleman.edu.glogster.com/about-me/


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2. Icebreaker Activity

This icebreaker activity was created during Module 1 of EDTECH 523. It is a traditional

icebreaker activity that has been converted to online delivery.

Author Hanna Coleman

Traditional Icebreaker

Name and Source

Name Tag Match Maker from Kim's Korner for Teacher Talk

Grade Level 7-12

Delivery Method Asynchronous

Traditional Icebreaker

Description

The traditional use of this icebreaker is in a synchronous classroom

setting. All students are given a 5 x 7 card and asked write the following

information on the card:

1. Name is placed in the center2. In the upper left corner, write four favorite activities

3. In the upper right corner, write four favorite singers or musical groups

4. In the lower left corner, write four favorite movies

5. In the lower right corner, write four adjectives that describe you

Upon completion, students are asked to view each others' cards silently

and determine who has the most similar words, starting with just the upper

left corner. Then, they would be given a few minutes to chat with whoever is

most similar in that area. Next, the same process would occur for the

upper right, lower left, and lower right. The purpose it to meet new people

for each group, so students should be encouraged to be in a new group for

each area.

Virtual Icebreaker Name

and Description

Match Maker Mix Up!

The transformed version of the Name Tag Match Maker is for an

asynchronous online setting. Students will be asked to use the tool,

Tagxedo, which creates word clouds. A brief "getting started" video tutorial

should be created for students unfamiliar with Tagxedo.

Students will be asked to create a word cloud that includes the following

information:

1. Name

2. Four favorite activities

3. Four favorite singers or musical groups

4. Four favorite movies

5. Four adjectives that describe you

6. Four places they would like to travel to someday

Once students have completed the creation of the Tagxedo, they will save

as an image and post in a discussion forum in the Learning Management


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System. Next, students will be asked to view each others' word clouds and

find one person per topic (activities, music, movies, adjectives, places) that

they have the most in common with. Students will comment each person's

original post.

Student Task 1. Watch the tutorial on "getting started" using Tagxedo.

2. Create a word cloud that includes the following information:a. Your name

b. Four of our favorite activities

c. Four of your favorite singers or musical groups

d. Four of your favorite movies

e. Four adjectives that describe you

f. Four places that you would like to travel to someday.

3. Save your word cloud as a JPEG.

4. Enter the course on Moodle and locate the forum, Match Maker Mix

Up!, in Week 1.

5. Create a new discussion post. Use your name as the title.

6. Insert your image to the post and save by the deadline.

7. Once all students have posted, view all their word clouds.

8. Find 1 person that has the most in common with your favorite

activities and comment on their post.

9. Next find 1 person that has the most in common with your favorite

singers/musical groups and comment on their post. Continue to

follow this process for all topics. You cannot use the same person for

more than 1 topic.

3. Critical Thinking Prompts

The questions below are critical thinking prompts intended for use in a 9-12 online discussion

forum. The blanks are meant to be filled in with content or question specific details.

Compare and contrast your response to your peers. Describe at least two similaritiesand two differences.

What additional details or facts can you provide to support your view? How might your view or thoughts change after reading this resource? What might happen if _________ changed? Discuss a possible outcome or solution based on your investigation. Can you explain what is meant by ____________ ? Which solution would you propose or support and why?

Hypothesize how you and your community might be affected by __________. Discuss the implications for society and your community.

4. Discussion Guides for the Online Classroom

The guide below outlines the different types of discussion and communication that you will find in


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the online classroom. The types described include: Introductions, Help, Announcements,

Content, Synchronous, Email, and Phone.

Discussion Mode Description and Guidelines

Introduction Forum The introduction forum will be used at the beginning of thecourse and can be referred back to when you are working withother students. You will complete the icebreaker activity withinthis forum. The icebreaker activity will be graded and is arequired task. The purpose is to introduce yourself to yourpeers and teacher. I hope that you will use this forum to sharewith others and to begin developing relationships with yourpeers.

Help Forum The help forum should be used throughout the course. You capost questions related to technology or content lessons in this

forum. You should plan on visiting this forum once a week tocheck and see if you can respond and help your peers. Theteacher will also be monitoring this forum and responding toquestions. This is a good place to start if you have a questionor concern before emailing the teacher directly.

Announcement Forum The announcement forum will contain weekly tips and helpfulsuggestions for completing the activities. The teacher will postin the announcement forum at the beginning of each week. Yoshould be checking the announcement forum at least once aweek, before starting the weekly assignments, in order to maksure you have all information needed.

Content Forum Content forums will be located within various weeks of thecourse. These forums are graded and required for all studentsto participate in. Please see the discussion forum rubric forgrading and the deadlines for contributing to each forum.

Synchronous Sessions There are several opportunities for synchronouscommunication throughout the course.

On campus lab: The campus is open on Tuesdays andThursdays from 7:30 - 2:00 p.m. You can workindependently on lab, meet with your teacher for help oguidance, or collaborate with other students.

Virtual office hours: The teacher will be available M, W,F via Google chat and hangout from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Class synchronous sessions: Synchronous sessionsusing Go-To-Meeting and Google Hangout will beconducted two times per term. You are expected toattend at least one session.

Email Communication If you have questions that were not answered in the HelpForum or you need to communicate with the teacher about


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setting up a help session, please email the teacher [email protected]. Your email shouldinclude a specific subject, course name, and specific detailson how I can help you. Please remember to use professionalwriting and netiquette. The teacher will respond to you within 2

hours during the Monday - Friday work week.

Phone Communication You can also communicate questions and concerns via phone.The teacher has both voice and texting options. Phone callsand texts will be responded to within 24 hours.Office Phone: 651-213-2055Google Voice Cell: 612-486-2303 [voice and text]

5. Sample Discussion Forum

The table below contains three sample discussion forum posts by students and possibleresponses by a teacher encouraging deeper thinking and modelling questioning techniques.

Student Task:

To increase your critical thinking about hunger, you are going to spend some time generatingpossible solutions for hunger-related problems.We can take action in our local communitiesand as global citizens.

1. In the forum below, you will find five hunger obstacles.

2. Read through each obstacle.

3. Select one obstacle to investigate and reflect on.

4. After a little investigation and reflection, reply to the obstacle post of your choice (you

only need to reply to 1 out the 5 obstacles) with a possible solution for tackling the

problem. Your solution does not necessarily need to "fix" the problem, but can begin t

move towards a solution.

5. For your solution, provide an explanation as to why you think this is an appropriate

solution. Please cite any resources that you used to think of your solution.

6. Reply to one other student and ask them a question about their proposed solution for

any of the obstacles.

Example Posts:

Student 1:

Maybe we can have a city fundraiser to help them to get food and we can change it to a foodfundraiser but we may not know what they eat so money will be best and we can have a placwhere kids can have fun almost like a carnival. If they come then they can go in for free andhave all free food they would like.


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Teacher Reply:

I think you have a great start on thinking about a possible solution for hunger within ourcommunity. Can you expand on your idea and provide some resources that may be beneficia

for organizing the carnival and fundraiser?

Student 2:

I think a good solution to this problem could be having community days that would besomewhat like a potluck. Parts of the community could get together once a month or moreoften and bring a bunch of food. It would be a good way to get the community together andthose who do not have food could also come and eat which would solve their hunger. Thiswould be a good solution because it could really help those in need. When asked why this isimportant, it is important so nobody in the community goes hungry.

Teacher Reply:

How might you encourage the community to participate? What might be some concernscommunity members might have?

Student 3:

I would try to make awareness about the issue with signs and have them be placed in townwhere people can see clearly. I would also go to the community center and ask them if wecould have an annual community dinner thats free so everyone could get a meal. I would alsbring awareness to the local food shelfs and get my family/friends/accquaintences to donate ithey are able to do so. I could also get my community to have a gardening week so everyonewould try to get a garden up in this period so they could donate the foods to the food shelf, th

would be a part of the gardening week, requires to have 1/4 to 1/2 or all of the foods producego to the food shelf.

Teacher Reply:

Thanks for sharing your original ideas! The gardening week would help to promote the idea ogrowing our own food and also sharing with the community. I would like you to explore andarticulate this proposal further. What might a plan for implementing the gardening weekinclude? What resources would need to be obtained? Who will need to invest in the plan?


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Part 3: Discussion Forum Assessment

The rubric below was created to use for a content based discussion forum assignment. It is

written for 9-12 grade students, but can be adjusted based on level. There are four criteria being

assessed: Content, Clarity and Organization, Professionalism, Participation and Netiquette.

Based on a 5 point scale, the total points a student could earn is 20.

Criteria Excellent

(5)

Proficient

(4-3)

Basic

(3-2)

Unsatisfactory

(1-0)

Content The discussion

post demonstrates

thorough reflection

on the topic. It

connects the topic

to previous or

current learning.

Statements or

opinions are

supported by facts

and/or examples.

The discussion

post demonstrates

some reflection on

the topic. It shows

some connection

of the topic to

previous or current

learning. It gives

some specific

facts or examples,

but lacks full

support.

The discussion

post demonstrates

limited reflection

on the topic. It

shows a basic

connection of the

topic to previous or

current learning. It

has very little facts

and examples.

The discussion

post does not

demonstrate

reflection on the

topic. It lacks

connection of the

topic to previous or

current learning,

specific facts, and

examples.

Clarity and

Organization

The discussion

post is organized

with headings orsubtopics. The

content is

presented in a

clear and concise

manner, showing

high quality

writing.

The discussion

post has adequate

organization withheadings or

subtopics. The

content may have

some unclear

areas or may lack

in quality or

writing.

The discussion

post has minimal

organization. Ithas unclear areas

and does not flow.

It lacks concise

and/or quality

thoughts.

The discussion

post has poor

organization andclarity. It lacks in

quality.

Professionalism The discussion

post has no

grammar, spelling,

or punctuation

errors.

The discussion

post has few (1-2)

grammar, spelling,

or punctuation

errors.

The discussion

post has some

(3-4) grammar,

spelling, or

punctuation errors.

The discussion

post has many

(5+) grammar,

spelling, or

punctuation errors.

Participation and

Netiquette

The initial

discussion post

and at least 2

replies to peers

The initial

discussion post

and 1 reply to a

peer is posted

The initial

discussion post is

posted prior to the

deadline.

The initial

discussion post is

not posted prior to

the deadline.


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are posted prior to

the deadlines.

Replies to peers

are respectful.

They encouragedeeper learning by

asking thoughtful

questions or

clarification

specific to the

topic.

prior to the

deadline.

Replies to peers

are respectful.

They mayencourage learning

by asking a

question or for

clarification

specific to the

topic.

Some replies to

peers are

respectful. Theylack questioning or

clarification.

Replies lack

respect, further

questioning, and

clarification.


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Part 4: Management Issues and Strategies

The table below contains common issues in time, discussion, and collaboration management.

Possible strategies for addressing or preventing the issues are provided in the right hand

column.

Time Management Issues Possible Strategies

Students email, text, call, and post

questions throughout the day and

night.

Develop policies for communication and responding to

student contact.

Clearly communicate your availability to students.

Plan a specific time during the day for responding to

questions related to course content or within in discussion

forums.

Plan a specific time for checking and responding to

emails, texts, and calls during the day.

Course links and activities may

need updated or fixing. Plan a specific time during the week to double check links

and troubleshoot problems - focus on the upcoming week

of content.

Communicate to students about how to contact you about

broken links and a time frame for fixing.

Maintain a list of activities that may need updating or more

support based on student response throughout the term.Evaluate these activities and determine a time to update

when course is not running.

Several students are having issues

with the same question or activity. Use an announcement forum to pre-address particular

lessons.

Create a forum where students can post questions and

peers can help with answering. Encourage use of this

forum over emailing instructor.

Create a forum where students can post questions and the

teacher addresses.

Update the lesson plan to include more direction.

Create a YouTube video to address the question and send

or post for all students.

Working from home can lead to

lack of direction in what needs to be

completed or distractions.

Create a daily checklist that includes priorities and

timelines for completion.


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Set daily, weekly, and term goals.

Organize your workspace and keep it clear of clutter.

When working from home, you find

yourself working too much as the

tasks are always accessible. (i.e.evenings and/or weekends)

Establish boundaries for yourself, such as when you will

check or work on items. Create a separate space in your home for completing

work.

Classroom [Discussion]

Management Issues

Possible Strategies

Expectations may not be fully

communicated or understood. Establish specific guidelines and expectations at the

beginning of the class.

Revisit expectations prior to discussions - post in an

announcements forum.

Directions should be very specific and include models. Create a forum for student questions so that the teacher

can respond and inform all students.

Students may be at various points

in the content and unprepared for

the discussion.

Contact students prior to discussion to provide support

and additional resources.

Stagger posting dates

Some students may dominate the

conversation, while others will

remain inactive.

Establish specific guidelines and expectations at the

beginning of the class for participation.

Redirect or encourage participation through one-on-one

interactions with students such as email or phone call.

Develop a system or heuristic for discussion [both

synchronous and asynchronous] that specifies type and

amount of participation or replies.

Break up students into smaller groups for discussion.

Technology fails for synchronous

discussion. Hold a practice session with students prior to the actual

discussion in order to troubleshoot issues.

You are unable to find a commontime for all students to participate in

a required synchronous discussion.

Offer more than one session that students can choose

from for attendance.

Hold online office hours that students can attend if miss a

session.

Record the synchronous session and have students watch

and complete an additional assignment if missed.


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The synchronous discussion either

lacks discussion from students

(teacher does most of the talking)

or is out of control/off topic.

Establish expectations and guidelines for replying to

others at the beginning of the course.



amount of participation or replies. Create discussion prompts that are connected to content

and ask open-ended, higher level questions.

Replies or responses to peers in

asynchronous discussion lacks

application or deeper thinking (i.e. I

agree.)

Establish expectations and guidelines for replying to

others at the beginning of the course.

Have students participate in a practice discussion at the

beginning of the course in order to model and give

feedback on student posts.

Provide models or examples throughout the course for

discussion.

Use a rubric for grading that students have access to.

Make your presence in discussion known.



amount of participation or replies.

Students may be more inclined to

share personal or sensitive

information. (i.e. I am a cutter or I

had a miscarriage)

Create discussion prompts that are connected to content

and ask higher level questions.

Discuss appropriateness or privacy through one-on-one

interactions with students such as email or phone call.

Students may use inappropriate

language. Provide netiquette guidelines.

Include netiquette in grading rubric.

Some students do not participate in

the discussions. Write expectations that make participation mandatory and

worth a grade in the class.

Discuss the benefits of forums or synchronous

discussions at the beginning of the class.

Encourage a safe and comfortable environment.

Create forums that encourage casual conversation or help

tools from peers.

Collaboration Management

Issues

Possible Strategies

All 9 weeks of the course are open

at the beginning of the term allowing

students to work at their own pace.

Implement deadlines for collaboration activities.

Break up work into smaller chunks.


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Use an announcement forum or mass text system for

reminders.

Rolling enrollment results in

students starting and ending atvarious times.

Stagger deadlines and posting dates Develop small group collaboration activities that students

can choose from throughout the course.

The same group of students always

partner or collaborate. Use strategies to diversify groups.


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Part 5: Parent Communication Strategies

It is important to be in weekly communication with parents on student progress and how they can

support their student. The table below contains sample strategies and examples for various

ways that the online teacher can communicate with the parent.

Strategy Example

Email It is important to be communicating with parents weekly on

student progress. Below you will find an example of a

weekly parent/student email concerning progress.

Dear Student and Parent,

We are down to the final 2 weeks of the term! Please checkyour progress today - - at this point you should be around 60%complete in your class in order to be on track to pass.

I am concerned about your classes, as you below where youshould be at this point - - World Lit (30%) and Geometry A(32%). I know you are motivated to make a lot of progress thisweek. Please use the checklist that I made you yesterday. Oncethis is complete, let me know and I can make you another onefor the remainder of the assignments. You will need to spendsignificant time in these classes to get back on track to pass.

Important Announcements for Week 8:

Late Lab: On this Tuesday, March 26th, lab is open until 7 p.m End of Term 3: All coursework and required assignments aredue on Thursday, April 4th at 2:00 P.M.

Please continue to let me know if you have questions orconcerns!

Regards,

Hanna

Voicemail or Text Some parents do not access email regularly. Please make

sure to confirm the best mode for weekly check-ins with

the parent at the beginning of the term. Below is an

example of a weekly phone call or text message home

concerning progress.


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Hello Darla,

This is Hanna Coleman at Wolf Creek Online High School. I amcalling to discuss Tims progress thus far this term. Please giveme a call back at your convenience to discuss further. My

number is 612-486-2303. Thank you!

Parent Orientation It is important for parents to understand communication

and course expectations at the beginning of each term.

Consider developing a parent orientation for your course

or Learning Management System. The orientation could

take place synchronously or asynchronously. Below are

sample topics that could be included in an orientation for

parents.

Parent ResponsibilitiesTechnology Use

OrganizationWorking at home - Tips and StrategiesUsing the syllabus and checklistsCommunicating with the teacher and your studentExpectations


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Documents

Communication Plan for Online Teaching