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Using Planned Interactions

Why? 

• Students want to feel connected to the course and to the instructor. We have found that planning and tracking certain intentional interactions helps instructors to connect with students. Some instructors do this without thought or without a great deal of planning. We have found that instructors without this ability benefit from some structure.
• We advocate a communication plan emphasizing instructor-to-student (individual), instructor-to-small groups (groups), and instructor-to-class (large group) communications. You want to make certain that you communicate to the individual student but you also want to communicate to small groups and the entire class. 
• It is important for students to know that you are active and care about the activities in the course. This establishes teaching presence and enhances the course experience for students.
• You establish the expectation for frequent and meaningful communication by modeling individual, small group, and whole group communication. 

Implications for Teaching and Learning. 

• Planning certain types of interactions throughout the course ensures that all types of student groupings (individual, small group, and large group) are considered throughout the course.
• Tracking interactions helps instructors make sure to communicate with all students on a more or less equal basis.
• Tracking interactions may serve as documentation for student contact and instructor involvement.

Promising Practices for TWU. 

• Try to build at least one individual conference for each student during the semester. In Blackboard, you can use the chat feature or email to send a personalized message to an individual. To start this process, ask students to share their course experiences with you or ask about issues that they would like you to individually clarify for them.
• If you use small group activities, we suggest you use the Groups feature to create groups and then use this tool to communicate with the group members. To start this process, we suggest you ask them to tell you about their progress on the project.
• Large group communications are best done through the Announcements feature of Blackboard. This feature will date stamp each communication. It is important for you to realize that all Announcement will remain for reference unless you physically remove the Announcement.
• Create  a spreadsheet with all students names and columns for individual and small group communications. Insert dates or use checkmarks to record these communications.
• Use specific and directed feedback on student work to create positive relationships between you and the students. Feedback can be used for small groups, large group, and individual communications.

How? 

There is merit to planning and tracking specific types of interactions throughout your distance course. You have a variety of communication tools at your disposal within Blackboard and may also choose to use other means of communication to interact with your students. Some of you may be more comfortable with using the telephone to increase contact and interaction. Others may choose to use email or messaging (by the way - email and messaging mean very different things in Blackboard and you may want to learn the difference to resolve some communication issues). As with most things in teaching, much depends on your personal style and the outcomes you wish to achieve in the course.

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