Working the Online Crowd: Humor and Teaching with Tech

• 03/28/18

Personalization. Students in a brick-and-mortar setting are often intimidated by the "professor." Now, place the instructor behind the Oz curtain of online uncertainty and the cowardly lion shines. Learn something unique about your students and then customize your responses to meet those individual characteristics. Students who are comfortable with their instructor are more willing to stay engaged, ask more questions and embrace the virtual community setting than those shaking at their keyboards.

Subject: If you must kiss a white donkey, keep your mouth closed.

So, those are the benefits I'm seeing but the obvious question is, "How do you do it?" You'll need to come up with your own strategies, but here are a few of the things that I have found to be successful:  

Engage. This, from the Latin words eng, meaning a bird of flight, and age, which refers to getting caught in a snare. The trick: how to get those flighty students caught in the content we teach? One technique I use is my e-mail subject lines. Off the wall, yes. Totally random, yes. Highly successful, yes. I constantly have students respond, "Ha ha, thanks again, Joe! I chuckle with your e-mail subjects. I can't wait till your next one." That's right, they can't wait to continue to interact with me. Cool!

Use real world examples (kind of). Any second-year education student knows this as a big, big motivational factor. In my courses dealing with crucial technical writing concepts, this plays out as me supplying questionably related YouTube links. For audience analysis, I send Bad Lip Reading's version of Yoda being poked by some Seagulls. When faced with critical topic analysis, I pass along "She's a Witch" from Monty Python's Holy Grail. If the lesson is on planning a document, I send along the McKenzie brothers in the classic Canadian movie Strange Brew.

As goofy as it seems, those and others work very well. It's the novelty, tied to the concept, that causes the association to have a lasting meaning. Plus, it's a heck of a lot of fun.

Make it personal. Learn something unique about your students and then use it. For example, I started working with a student whose last name was Bourne, like the movie. So, my theme of communication with her became one of espionage. We shared jabs about decoder rings and self-destructing e-mails.

Subject: Even though fish have salivary glands they don't spit. Why would they?

Be authentic. The average age of a WGU student is 37, and most I deal with have 15-plus years of professional experience. I insist being called "Joe." I don't boast about my publications, technical writing experience or advanced degree. Students tell me about Department of Defense projects and being hired to hack into systems only to have the police break down a hotel door. I'm humbled. My message is, "We're partners, having a little fun while looking for the path to success." On the phone, I spend more time listening than talking.

Give timely feedback. This is crucial in face-to-face classrooms but may be more so in the virtual realm. Online students, floating out in the ether, look for replies to affirm they exist. A quick, positive (or carefully coined negative) response goes a long way in stimulating motivation. I field positive results like, "Thank you for the kind words, Joe. Your approach to this assignment has really helped get me moving toward completion."

Of course, I like to goof with the feedback as well: "Thanks for the e-mail and draft. What do you want me say? This is awesome? This is a stellar job? This is outstanding? This is the last time I put bleach in with my dress shirts? Well, it's all of that except the last one. :)"

Establish clear expectations. We've all heard of the sandwich technique: positive at the start, nuke 'em in the middle, and positive at the end. I start my e-mails with a witty comment or two, provide clear explanations of what work or editing is needed, and finish with a positive. "You're doing an excellent job! Holler if you have any questions or run out of cash. :)" I don't try to circumvent the learning process, just try to encourage it.

Subject: Avoid traveling when the moon is full unless Lars has caught the greased pig.

I started teaching because I love working with students. The growth of technology as a delivery system has proved to be a challenge. WGU's students are some of the most fantastic folks I've ever dealt with. What really brings home the bacon is when my students are motivated to learn and eventually succeed. I find humor, even in the virtual world of online learning, is clearly a major instructional skill that helps me achieve my goals.

Oh, and you'll know when the pig gets caught. That Lars is a real braggart.