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Faculty Resource Guide: Community Building/Social Presence

Guide for full and part time faculty

Community Building/Social Presence

Community Building/Social Presence

Section 3 of the E-Blueprint Course Development Review focuses on Community Building/Social Presence.

Review Item	Example (Possible Evidence)
★ C.1 Invites and encourages students to share an introduction, as well as personal learning goals at the beginning of the course. There is a "Welcome" or "Let's Get Acquainted" discussion.	A discussion forum is provided in a Getting Started, Welcome, or first module. Provide a due date. Points are optional. With points it serves as a graded activity and satisfies having attended requirements for online.
★★ C.2 Provides ample activities for student-to-student interaction (discussions, peer reviews, group interaction, etc.) Note for reviewer: Select one star if one type of interaction is present, two if all are present. ---UDL 5.2 Use multiple tools for construction and composition	See B.7 and B.16 in Course Design
★ C.3 States expectations for participation in discussions (including reinforcing netiquette) ---UDL 9.1 Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation	Thorough instructions help set expectations and avoid confusion. For discussion forums, include instructions for deadline for initial post, frequency, quantity, and other deadline/time requirements, requiring citing of sources.
★ C.4 Posts critical, reflective questions for discussions. ---UDL 6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress	Discussion questions are open ended. Could be multi-part to include reflective component.
★ C.5 Uses inclusive language. ---UDL 8.3 Foster collaboration and community	Provide group projects or create student groups to encourage peer interaction. Provide prompts to help students ask peers and teachers questions or provide support.
★★ C.6 Uses course announcements when appropriate. Includes announcements as part of initial course design. ---UDL 6.1 Guide appropriate goal-setting	Compose and schedule announcements as part of initial course design or setup. Add announcements for feedback and to show presence during the course.
★ C.7 Establishes and fosters a positive and encouraging environment by contributing (but not assuming ownership of) to discussions. ---UDL 8.3 Foster collaboration and community	Assure commenting/replying to each student in discussion forums at several points throughout the duration of the course. Add a follow-up to a discussion as needed to spur conversation.
★★ C.8 Maintains a consistent and obvious presence in the course. ---UDL 6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources	Use of announcements and presence in communications forums are key methods to maintain a presence for all students in the course.
★★ C.9 Provides ongoing and meaningful communication beyond the comments on graded assignments (i.e. announcements summarizing learning and course progress, additional content as necessary, summary comment in discussions). ---UDL 9.1 Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation	Use of announcements and presence in communications forums are key methods to provide ongoing feedback and foster communication throughout the course.
★★ C.10 Informs students (if applicable) when he/she will be out of contact for any extended period of time (announcement). ---UDL 3.3 Guide information processing and visualization	Provide an announcement and send message via the InBox (Latter not available to reviewer).