21/4/2019 Establishing an Online Presence | Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals

MENU

  FACULTY WEBSITE  LEARNING ROADMAP FOR NEW ONLINE INSTRUCTORS 

ESTABLISHING AN ONLINE PRESENCE

Establishing an Online Presence

Faculty 

Establishing a positive online presence in your course can result in your students' having:

1. a poor learning experience

2. a somewhat valuable experience
3. a meaningful and rich learning experience
4. all of the above

Answer: 3. a meaningful and rich learning experience

Why?

Many students are enrolled in the courses at EP because of the expertise and experiences they
can gain from the subject and the subject matter expert: you!

This invaluable combination of theoretical foundations and practical real world experience
covers all areas of student satisfaction: why, what, and how.

Please view the following recording on effective strategies for establishing an online presence.

https://ep.jhu.edu/faculty/learning-roadmap-for-new-online-instructors/establishing-an-online-presence 1/4
21/4/2019 Establishing an Online Presence | Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals

Establish an Online Presence - EP

The slides for this presentation can be downloaded in PDF format.

To download please click the following link: Establish an Online Presence

As you can see the strategies explained in the video above are easy to create and easy to
implement and your instructional designer is always there to provide assistance.

Five Effective Strategies

So lets look at the five effective strategies demonstrated in the previous recording and view
examples from live online course at EP.

1. Introduction Email
As discussed in the video recording Establish an Online Presence, this is your first “hello” to your
students and lets them know you are ready and excited to teach the course. It also provides
helpful information about the course. This, in a sense, breaks the ice between you and your
students and is the first step in getting to know each of your students throughout the course.

Below is an example introduction email that you can download and modify to meet your needs.

To download please click the following link: Online Student Welcome Email.doc

Another example of how you can break the ice with your students and provide an opportunity
for them to get to know more about you and the course is by creating a short recording
introducing the course to the students. This simple recording can be done using a webcam or
screen recorder.

2. Instructor Biography
“Humanizing the online learning environment increases the student's comfort level, and reduces
the psychological distance between the instructors and students.” (DuCharme-Hansen, Dupin-

https://ep.jhu.edu/faculty/learning-roadmap-for-new-online-instructors/establishing-an-online-presence 2/4
21/4/2019 Establishing an Online Presence | Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals

Bryant, 2005).

A very simple way to do this is to provide a personalized biography that can textually and
graphically represent who you are and what you enjoy doing. This encourages the same
behavior from the students, ultimately creating a more open and collaborative course.

Here is an example used by Dr. Michael Robert.

To download, please click the following link: Instructor Bio sample

3. Introduction to the Module

Just as we introduced the course to the students, it is also an effective strategy to introduce each
module. Please find below an example by Dr. Justin Williams, an associate research professor at
Johns Hopkins University, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering.

  0:00 / 7:55   

4. Scheduling Regular Synchronous Office Hours

Office Hours should be considered “students time”. This may be the only opportunity they have
to synchronously meet and discuss with peers and the instructor.

The number of students attending regular synchronous office hours is not the important part,
providing the opportunity to your students is.

Office Hours are held in Adobe Connect. Below is a help sheet on how to create Adobe Connect
meetings.

To download, click the following link: Adobe Connect Help Sheet.pdf

5. Personalized language

https://ep.jhu.edu/faculty/learning-roadmap-for-new-online-instructors/establishing-an-online-presence 3/4
21/4/2019 Establishing an Online Presence | Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals

Regardless of whether the course is face-to-face or online each student wants to be recognized
as an individual rather than just another number in a group. Below are two examples of how
language can be written in an online course:

“Dr. Smith would like students to call his office number if a matter is urgent and he will return the
call when available.”

“If a matter is urgent please call my office number and I will return your call when available.”

The second example is more personal and lets the students know you are talking directly to
them.

References:

DuCharme-Hanson, R. and Dupin-Bryant, P. (2005). Course planning for online adult learners.
Tech Trends

Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering

Weather and Emergency Notices Locations

Contact Us Privacy Statement

Engineering for Professionals is part of The Johns Hopkins University, which is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624
Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. (267-284-5000) The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency
recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The Master of Science in Engineering in Systems
Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals

3400 North Charles Street
Wyman Park Building, 3rd Floor West
Baltimore, MD 21218-2608
410-516-2300 | 1-800-548-3647 | Fax: 410-516-0936
jhep@jhu.edu

   

https://ep.jhu.edu/faculty/learning-roadmap-for-new-online-instructors/establishing-an-online-presence 4/4