A man on his laptop involved in a zoom meeting

Communicating Appropriately with Online Learners - Application Ideas

Now that you have had a chance to explore the principles of communicating appropriately with online learners, you will explore ways to apply these principles in your online teaching.

Canvas Announcements and Canvas Inbox

Canvas can help teachers stay in touch with learners. It provides multiple avenues of communication, each one useful in a unique way. The most common communication tools in Canvas include the following:

• Canvas Announcements

• Canvas Inbox

Canvas announcements help teachers reach the entire class at once and are useful when pointing learners to content inside Canvas or outside Canvas (such as the Gospel Library). Use announcements to:

• Remind learners about an upcoming deadline.

• Give a preview of an upcoming lesson.

• Share an answer to a question that was brought up during the lesson.

• Announce any notable events that may be of interest to learners.

• Offer words of encouragement.

• Share your testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Canvas Inbox sends instant messages between teachers and learners. Within the Canvas Inbox, users can:

• View and reply to messages.

• Communicate with an individual learner or all the learners in a course.

• Retrieve messages sent to their Canvas Inbox via an alternative email address, a text message, or social media, depending on how they choose to configure notification settings in Canvas.

• Retrieve messages sent to the Canvas Inbox on their mobile devices.

Optional Canvas Help Guides

• What are announcements?

• How do I use the Inbox as an instructor?

• How do I send a message to a user in a course in the Inbox as an instructor?

Whenever you write something in Canvas, ask yourself the following questions, which articulate the teaching principles of communicating appropriately:

• If I were to receive this message, how would it make me feel?

• Is the tone encouraging, compassionate, and kind?

• Is this message consistent with the expectations I have already given to my class?

Remote Teaching

Online seminary and institute courses often include a virtual meeting called a remote gathering. This meeting is most like an in-person classroom setting, when people meet in the same virtual place at the same time. The following skills can help an online teacher communicate better in remote gatherings. Consider what you could apply right now as you plan your next remote gathering.

Effective Communication Skills

• Practice active listening. Avoid interrupting, and restate your understanding of what has been said to ensure you correctly understand the message.

• Be attentive. Give the speaker your full attention. Try to think about what the speaker is saying. Do not think about what you are going to say next. Eliminate distractions that might pull you away from the speaker.

• Look for the good in one another. As you look for admirable qualities in another person, you will be less likely to focus on flaws. Consider sharing with your learners what you admire about them and your appreciation for their contributions.

• Offer genuine encouragement. Then President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency taught, “True words of encouragement require only a loving and caring heart but may have an eternal impact on the life of those around you” ( “Happiness, Your Heritage - Application Ideas,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 120). Remote gatherings are the one place in the online learning experience where you can offer immediate encouragement directly to the person. Be sensitive to the learner who may need a little extra encouragement from you.

Icon: Report

Discuss with Your Supervisor

Ponder the following questions and how you might incorporate them in your teaching. Discuss with your local S&I representative any of the questions that you would like additional help with.

• What are the biggest challenges you personally face when communicating with learners?

• Invite your local S&I representative to attend your next remote gathering or view your Canvas course. Ask for feedback on your communication skills—tone, body language, response to learner questions and comments, and so on.

• What other Canvas features have you seen used to communicate effectively with learners?