Students, especially adults, learn better by sharing their experiences with others in order to apply the content. They also learn when they teach each other. Consider ways to encourage student interaction and sharing of information with each other.

During an in-person class you have options which have always been available to you, e.g. real-time discussions, hand-raising, body language, social presence, and electronic response tools.

The online component, however, offers different options. An LMS contains communication tools which include message boards, live chat, whiteboards and email. In addition, there are standalone tools such as instant message, blogs, wikis and forums. There is no one answer to the communication question, but with the myriad of options available, at least one solution exists which should fit your particular situation and communication goals.

It is a myth that online courses are less social than in-person courses. Although the channels and styles of communication are different, some students get to know their online classmates and instructor better than their in-person counterparts. As in the classroom, it is up to the professor to structure online communication opportunities and expectations to enhance learning.

Any form of online communication is a subset of the in-person experience. You no longer have visual clues such as body language, facial expressions, tone of voice to cue your responses. People have adopted various text messaging conventions to express emotions, e.g., emoticons/smilies ;-), all capitals (yelling).

People form opinions of you from your writing style. Consider how you wish to be perceived and write accordingly.

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