Five Ways to Boost Online Faculty Morale This Month

1. Positive Feedback. Send each faculty member a personalized email thanking them for their good work, and pointing out some of their strengths. Copy department chairs on exceptional ones. Remember to always be looking for them doing something right!
2. Enlist their Wisdom. Select a few top faculty and ask them what their top secret tip is for their online teaching success. Then take a digital camera and ask them to record a 20-30 second “spot” talking about this secret. Edit all these clips together into a 5 minute clip, and post to your faculty resource page.
3. Be an Extended Family. Be diligently aware of any personal issues going on in the lives of online faculty, particularly adjunct ones. Use tools such as FaceBook, group blogs, or email lists to virtually recognize birthdays, births of children/grandchildren, and coordinate offers for assistance if times are tough (illness, natural disasters, etc.).
4. Have a Contest. Contests are fun, educational, and build team spirit. Do these weekly or monthly on topics such as program or institution trivia and award small prizes (institutional t-shirts, recyclable grocery bags, small gift cards, etc.)
5. Offer a Mini-Conference. Faculty love to get presentations on their vitas, so develop a two-day mini-conference (online of course) where those who choose can present 30-minute webinars on relevant online teaching topics.

Getting Aquainted

I think that the single biggest challenge that faculty and students face in an 100% online course is the feeling that they don't really know each other at all. This can be overcome, but it is very difficult, and requires an ongoing and creative effort by the instructor to reach the students. This part is not so bad for most instructors - but there's more. It also requires that the instructor show his or her vulnerability so that the students can view him or her as a real person. This all starts in the first week of the course in the getting-aquainted exercises. There are lots of get-to-know you exercises, but my very favorite of all time is called "100 Things About Me." This is simply where you make a list of random statements about yourself, some of which are quite personal, and then ask students to do the same. I have my own list that I created a few years ago, and try to keep somewhat updated. Check it out and see if you don't feel like you know me a lot better.