Final Reflection
As we learned during Module 1, students in online classes need the comfort of knowing that their instructor is available to help them. By providing students with at least two methods of contact, the instructor can be more confident that they will be able to maintain close contact with the class. I provided an email address and two phone contacts. Suggestions for improvements included increasing the size of the font for the contact information. So I have done that as well as adding a bold font for the stems. I also centered the information to make it more noticeable. This assignment made me think carefully about how I would balance life with an online course -- so I will be sure to set boundaries with regards to expectations for contact with students. It is such a 24/7 world that we forget people have lives beyond the keyboard. I will be cognizant of both my time and my students' time.
Module 1: Contact Information
Vicki Thornley, MSN, RN, CNE
Email: [email protected]
Office phone: 806.725.8907
Cell phone: 480.712.0363
Email: [email protected]
Office phone: 806.725.8907
Cell phone: 480.712.0363
Above are some ways to contact me. I check email once in the morning and again in the evening Monday through Friday. That might be the best way to contact me. I'll get back to you within 24 hours. On weekends I will still check email daily but may not respond in the 24 hour time frame. You can also contact me on my office phone Monday - Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (central time). I am frequently in and out of my office but leave a message with your name and contact number. I'll return your call as soon as possible after I receive the message. For emergencies, please use the cell phone number provided to call or text. Please consider what constitutes an emergency and the time of day when contacting me.
I chose these methods of contact because they are the most reliable way to get my attention. The best method of contact for me is email notification as it can be pushed to my cell phone. I should be able to manage my time more efficiently by determining the urgency of logging in to address student concerns. By the end of the course I'll probably come to understand that the online teaching is a 24/7 responsibility, but even then I might still want to limit the students' expectations of my time. I hesitate to post my personal cell phone number on a public website, so the number listed for emergencies is a Google Voice number. I could use it as a contact number for students in a live course but there could be internet connectivity issues. If I were posting within a course management system that limited access to students enrolled in the course, I would post my direct cell phone number. I'm probably naively paranoid about that -- more personal information than I can image is already public. In my information above, I didn't limit the time of day for emergencies but hope to appeal to an adult student's common sense -- possibly a mistake!
