Regular Effective Contact

TL;DR

Regular and effective contact between instructors and students is required by accrediting institutions and federal regulations, and it is crucial for student persistence and engagement in online courses.

Transcript

hello and welcome to the penguin prof channel for educators I'm Valerie Pennington and today I'm going to talk about regular and effective contact so the learning objectives for us today include an explanation of why regular and effective contact is required and necessary we're of course going to define regular and effective contact and identify lo... Read More

Key Insights

• 🧑‍🎓 Regular and effective contact is required by accrediting institutions, federal regulations, and colleges, and it is beneficial for student persistence and engagement.
• 🧑‍🎓 Effective contact involves instructor-initiated communication and interaction, not just student interaction with course materials.
• 😀 The frequency of contact should be equivalent to a face-to-face course and must be ongoing, taking place on a regular, weekly basis.
• 🧑‍🎓 Instructors must clearly communicate their contact methods, response times, and boundaries to students.
• ✅ Synchronous methods like Zoom and asynchronous methods like check-in assignments provide opportunities for effective contact.
• 🧑‍🎓 Effective contact should include engaging and interactive techniques to promote student involvement and learning.
• ⌛ Hours of contact should be documented for compliance purposes.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why is regular and effective contact required in online education?

Regular and effective contact is required to meet the standards of accrediting institutions, federal regulations, and to support student persistence and engagement in online courses. It ensures that students receive guidance, feedback, and active engagement from instructors.

Q: What is the difference between regular and effective contact and student interaction with course materials?

Regular and effective contact involves instructor involvement in teaching concepts, providing feedback, determining student progress, and encouraging active engagement. It is not the same as students reading materials, studying, or interacting with each other without instructor direction or feedback.

Q: How frequently should instructors have contact with students in online courses?

Instructors must have contact with students on a regular, ongoing basis, equivalent to the frequency of a face-to-face course. The number of minutes spent per week depends on the number of units in the course.

Q: What methods can instructors use for regular and effective contact?

Instructors can use synchronous methods such as Zoom lectures and office hours, Canvas chat, Google Hangouts, or live streams. Asynchronous methods include check-in assignments, syllabus quizzes, email or Canvas inbox messages, feedback on assessments, podcasts, discussion boards, virtual labs, and more.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Regular and effective contact is required by the ACCJC and Title 5 of California edie code, as well as federal financial aid and Southwestern College.

• Effective contact involves instructor-initiated communication and interaction, not just student interaction with course materials.

• Frequency and type of contact must be clearly communicated to students, and it should be ongoing, synchronous or asynchronous.