5 Tips for Personalizing Online Teaching
Whether teaching online or face-to-face, the importance of creating a strong rapport with students is clear. Yet, those of us teaching online may be at a disadvantage. The remote, asynchronous nature of the online classroom creates a natural psychological distance between us and our students (Falloon, 2011; Moore, 1997). But, addressing this disconnect may be as simple as personalizing our online teaching presence. The personalization principle (Clark & Mayer, 2011) highlights that by presenting content in a student-friendly, conversational, personalized tone, online instructors can simultaneously increase student learning and engagement.