Communicate with your Online Instructor

Posted by Benae Lambright on July 22nd, 2008

Being a student in an online atmosphere can be overwhelming. At times you may even feel alone. Due to the distance learning format the biggest form of communication is EMAIL. It is essential to use this tool to develop a relationship with your online instructor.

As a part of your class requirements you will have the opportunity to “chat” with the class using the discussion boards and real-time seminars or chat sessions, but the best way to speak one-on-one with the course facilitator is to use email to ask questions, clarify information, share thoughts and get to know your professor.

Online schools have instructor policies that require them to check email daily, host office hours and at some schools have access to instant messaging. The accessibility to your professor may not be the experience of a face-to-face meeting but it can be an opportunity for open discussion. Review your class syllabus to see what the best way to contact your professor. If email is the preferred option, send an email to introduce yourself outside of the opening unit’s introductory opportunity. Save the instructor’s email address in your contact list, as well as include them on your safe list. You would not want to miss a correspondence from your instructor because it goes to your bulk mail box.

It is recommended that you use the email system of your school. Just as you would not want to miss an email from your professor, the opposite applies. Using your personal email account may be flagged by the school’s email administration as an unsolicited email. It may forward it to a bulk mailbox or the professor may dismiss it as spam. Many times your personal email account does not identify you but instead describes our alternate egos. Beware that email names that are “suggestive” and “unique” may not be answered. The school’s assigned email account will give you better odds of your email being directed to the professor’s inbox and responded to in a timely fashion.

Your instructor will appreciate your outreach. This will also help to set the expectations of your learning experience. Using email or instant messaging will afford you the chance to make a presence with your professor. It is also a way to keep your professor informed. As an online student you probably have a demanding schedule. That is a major reason for many who enroll at an online college or university. There are times when you may have difficulty meeting your deadlines, communicating with your instructor can help you to stay focused, make up work and find out about discussions or resources you may have missed.

Keeping the lines of communication open will only enhance your learning experience. It will not only keep you engaged in the process, it will also elicit dialogue from your professor. Just keep the emails respectful and with the understanding that what you write might not be interpreted as what you meant. So, keep your emails short and to the point. Identify yourself, the class you attend and what your specific question is. The easier it is for the instructor to understand you, the easier it is for them to provide a substantial response.

Tags: communication, discussion, distance learning, email, online degrees, online learning

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 7:36 pm and is filed under Colleges and Universities, My Online Experience, Online Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.