General Guidelines for Regular Effective Contact in Canvas
What is Regular Effective Contact?
In a nutshell, Regular Effective Contact is the requirement for sustained, teacher-initiated interaction between the teacher and the student. Student-student, student-content, and student-LMS interactions by themselves do not constituteRegular Effective Contact.A better way to think about Regular Effective Contact is to think about Teacher Presence Online.
What is required of us:
In order for us to be compliant with this Title V requirement, a back and forth interaction between teacher and studentmust be evidentand sustained in the district-provided course shell throughout thelength of the course. This can be achieved in a variety of ways.
The following are examples (though not an exhaustive list) of how to implementRegular Effective Contactin the district-provided LMS:
General Guidelines For Creating Teacher Presence Online
Frequency & Timeliness of Interactions / ▪Establish guidelines for frequency of contact that are the same as in the face-to-face classroom.▪Make known response time for student questions/inquiries and assignment feedback (e.g. 1-2 business days).
▪Maintain an active daily presence, particularly during the beginning weeks of a course.
▪Give frequent and substantive feedback throughout the course.
Expectations for Interactions / ▪Specify course policy regarding frequency and timeliness of all contact initiated by the instructor in the syllabus.
▪Explain course policy regarding student-initiated contact (where to post questions, assignments, etc.) in the syllabus.
▪Outline and explain netiquette in initial course documents.
▪Clarify important dates, such as assignment and assessment deadlines not only in the beginning but also throughout the course.
General Guidelines For Creating Teacher Presence Online – Continued
Absences from Interactions / ▪Inform students immediately of course designee should an illness, family emergency or other unexpected event prevent continuing regular effective contact for a prolonged period of time.▪Let students know when instructor-initiated regular effective contact will continue.
Initiated Interactions / ▪Include means for multiple types of interaction in the Canvas course shell.
▪Utilize appropriate media foraccessibility.
▪Design daily or weekly assignments and projects that promote collaboration among students.
▪Model coursenetiquetteat the beginning of the semester with instructor-guided introductions.
▪Pose questions and prompts in the discussion boards which encourage various types of interaction and critical thinking skills among all course participants, and be a part of those discussions.
▪Monitor content activity to ensure that students participate fully and discussions remain on topic.
▪Create a specific Discussion forum for general questions about course and its content (Q&A)
▪Ask students for feedback about the course on a regular basis and revise content as needed. Also, inform them of adjustmentsyou made as a result of their feedback.
Some tips and tools for implementing REC in your online class:
▪Use Canvas(the District providedLMS) as your primary hub for all interaction
▪Use Inbox Mail and the Announcements to “push” communications
▪Ask students to post content related questions in the Q&A Discussion, and respond to them there
▪Have synchronous discussions using Conferences and the Chat activity
▪Have asynchronous discussions using Canvas Discussions
▪Establish conventions for frequency of contact
▪Use a Q&A Forum to help you maintain an active presence
▪Give timely feedback via the Discussions, Speedgrader, or Inbox Mail as appropriate
▪Welcome each studentby their name at the start of the course
▪When interacting with students remember to start with their name in the response
▪Strive for having more dialogues not just monologues
▪Use shortscreencasts/podcasts (don’t forget accessibility!) to introduce/summarize weekly content
▪Use a variety of methods and media throughout the course. Mixt it up!
▪Figure out assessments and activities that support your outcomes, and are interesting to you!
▪Give Group Assignmentsto promote student-student interaction
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Ricardo Flores – Skyline College