Building a Class Community Online from Day One

This discussion about online teaching is specifically designed to welcome new adjuncts who started teaching at UMBC in 2020-2021 and connect them to other faculty. All are welcome!

Key to students’ motivation and learning is a feeling of connectedness to the class--to the instructor, to other students, and to content. Such feelings foster engagement--an essential element for students to succeed. For many of us creating that sense of community seems easier when we can meet with our students face-to-face. How can we establish connection online? Join with colleagues for a virtual discussion about ways to structure student interactions, demonstrate and manage your presence in the class, teach for inclusion, and convey caring and support in your online course. Please review one of the following two book chapters in preparation for our discussion:

• Chapter 4: “Building Community” from Small Teaching Online by Flower Darby with James Lang--provides a few key ideas to help you think through the process.
• Chapter 6: “Developing Interactivity, Social Connection, and Community” from Online Teaching at Its Best by Linda Nilson and Ludwika Goodson--provides a deeper dive into these issues and links to resources.

Participants may access the ebook online at any time through the AOK library in advance of the session using the following step-by-step instructions:

1. Log into myUMBC
2. Go to the AOK Library Website
3. In the AOK OneSearch box, type the book title and press Search
4. Locate the ebook, and click on the link to Online Access under the descriptive information

Please click “Going” below to reserve your seat for this session, and we will send you a Google calendar invitation with a WebEx link one hour before the session. If you register less than an hour before the session, you will receive the WebEx link when you register. Please email fdc@umbc.edu if you have any questions. If you have registered and find that you can no longer attend, please kindly release your spot so that others may attend.