Communication Tools

Best Practices

  • Be sure you have completed and accurate information on your syllabus and on the "Getting Started" page. Including how you prefer to be contacted and when. The most common method is official Taft College Email.
  • Communicate clearly and simply.
  • Establish a schedule for regular communication. Pick a day and send a message the same day each week. Try not to overload students with too many messages. Instead, send one weekly summary or checklist to students. Messages should be brief, clear, complete and employ a professional, but friendly/approachable tone. 

Tools

Although you can choose from many tools for communicating with students, select only a few to implement. Student panels generally ask faculty to stick with the same tools they use in other courses and not overwhelm them with “extra” tools.
  • Canvas

    Humanize yourself to students and be present in your course. Let your personality show in the way you design your course in Canvas course.

    • Craft text for announcements and activities using a professional yet conversational tone. Post announcements highlighting connections between course content, activities, and assignments.
    • Provide detailed feedback on student work. Providing feedback to students via audio and video is an option. Canvas allows faculty to “speak” feedback to students directly in the Canvas SpeedGrader. Some faculty record screencasts of themselves reviewing student work while providing audio feedback.
  • Email
     Respond to all questions in email and Canvas daily. It is recommended for both faculty and students to use Taft College email.
  • Video and Audio

    Consider using audio or video tools to allow students to hear your voice and see you as a real person. Short video recordings or screencasts with captions help students get vital information about the course and get to know you at the same time.

    Although Taft College doesn’t offer training and support for this tool, some faculty use Audacity, a free, open-source audio recorder and editor.

Resources