ExCEEd Community Exchange

Hi Everyone,
This week we have three great ECx sessions on Maintaining high student engagement in an online environment (Aug. 3), Strategies for building interpersonal rapport with students in different learning environments (Aug. 5), and Projects, labs, and experiential learning in an online environment (Aug. 6).  
Discussion boards are one tool which can be used to promote discussion and engagement outside of the classroom - so let's start this week off by talking about: "Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment"  Note that activities which build positive rapport in an asynchronous environment do not need to be unique to the asynchronous environment. 
I look forward to our discussions during and in between our ECx sessions this week!
-Carolyn

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------

Hi Everyone,
To build rapport, I usually share a short bio with my students the first day of class.  This year I will share my bio in a google slides document and have each one of my students fill out their own slide with name, picture, hometown, facts about themselves, etc. as part of their first week activities.  The great thing about this is that students can also learn about each other.  A second way to do this is to use a biosketch discussion board thread and have every student post their bio.  If you plan to use discussion boards this is a great option because it allows students to learn how to use the discussion board. 
Regardless of how I share my bio, a silly photo is always a must.  So, here's a photo from the 2019 USMA ExCEEd workshop, Go Team TRON!  
-Carolyn



------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------

You could start the semester with a pre-course questionnaire to have each student give a short piece on who they are, where they are from and what they expect to get out of the class. They you could post a video of yourself, talking about who you (the professor) are and what your journey has been. Possibly, highlighting some lows and highs so that most people can relate as most people would have both setbacks and successes in life. This will put a human element to the class and students would be more likely to open up and be more forthcoming to email and ask for help with course work

------------------------------
Kweku Brown Ph.D.,A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
The Citadel
Charleston SC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 09:45 AM
From: Carolyn Rodak
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi Everyone,
To build rapport, I usually share a short bio with my students the first day of class.  This year I will share my bio in a google slides document and have each one of my students fill out their own slide with name, picture, hometown, facts about themselves, etc. as part of their first week activities.  The great thing about this is that students can also learn about each other.  A second way to do this is to use a biosketch discussion board thread and have every student post their bio.  If you plan to use discussion boards this is a great option because it allows students to learn how to use the discussion board.
Regardless of how I share my bio, a silly photo is always a must.  So, here's a photo from the 2019 USMA ExCEEd workshop, Go Team TRON!
-Carolyn

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------

Carolyn,
First thanks for the USMA West Point shout out!  For those of you that have not enjoyed ExCEEd at West Point, plan on coming next summer!  A couple things I did during our asynchronous spring is make it a point to make myself available synchronously. Every normally scheduled class meeting, I made it a point to call in and talk with everyone that chose to call in. Sometimes we talked about the latest homework or a difficult concept from the asynchronous class video.  Other times, we talked life (life during COVID, life in the Army, etc.).  In between, I made it a point to "cold call" one person every class lesson.  I would randomly (or intentionally) call a student on Microsoft Teams or on their cell phone and check on them (I always text them on Teams or their phone first, to make sure it was a good time to talk).  I think both techniques demonstrated to my students that I cared about them as people and cared about their learning.

------------------------------
Aaron Hill Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Academy Professor, USMA
Fort Montgomery NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 09:45 AM
From: Carolyn Rodak
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi Everyone,
To build rapport, I usually share a short bio with my students the first day of class.  This year I will share my bio in a google slides document and have each one of my students fill out their own slide with name, picture, hometown, facts about themselves, etc. as part of their first week activities.  The great thing about this is that students can also learn about each other.  A second way to do this is to use a biosketch discussion board thread and have every student post their bio.  If you plan to use discussion boards this is a great option because it allows students to learn how to use the discussion board.
Regardless of how I share my bio, a silly photo is always a must.  So, here's a photo from the 2019 USMA ExCEEd workshop, Go Team TRON!
-Carolyn

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------

Microsoft Teams was quite helpful for connecting with our students this past spring in our capstone course.  We used the chat, video chat, set up discussion boards and assignment Q&A boards in the channels.  Student teams also had their own private channels for team conversations and file sharing ... I particularly like the @ mention feature -- students could easily call our attention to a post/question, and the instructors could easily notify students when their question(s) had been answered or a resource had been posted.  I also really enjoyed adding emojis -- a quick thumbs-up or smiley face or dancing penguin when warranted.  ​

------------------------------
Judy Liu A.M.ASCE
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 04:05 PM
From: Aaron Hill
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Carolyn,
First thanks for the USMA West Point shout out!  For those of you that have not enjoyed ExCEEd at West Point, plan on coming next summer!  A couple things I did during our asynchronous spring is make it a point to make myself available synchronously. Every normally scheduled class meeting, I made it a point to call in and talk with everyone that chose to call in. Sometimes we talked about the latest homework or a difficult concept from the asynchronous class video.  Other times, we talked life (life during COVID, life in the Army, etc.).  In between, I made it a point to "cold call" one person every class lesson.  I would randomly (or intentionally) call a student on Microsoft Teams or on their cell phone and check on them (I always text them on Teams or their phone first, to make sure it was a good time to talk).  I think both techniques demonstrated to my students that I cared about them as people and cared about their learning.

------------------------------
Aaron Hill Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Academy Professor, USMA
Fort Montgomery NY
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 09:45 AM
From: Carolyn Rodak
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi Everyone,
To build rapport, I usually share a short bio with my students the first day of class.  This year I will share my bio in a google slides document and have each one of my students fill out their own slide with name, picture, hometown, facts about themselves, etc. as part of their first week activities.  The great thing about this is that students can also learn about each other.  A second way to do this is to use a biosketch discussion board thread and have every student post their bio.  If you plan to use discussion boards this is a great option because it allows students to learn how to use the discussion board.
Regardless of how I share my bio, a silly photo is always a must.  So, here's a photo from the 2019 USMA ExCEEd workshop, Go Team TRON!
-Carolyn

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY

Yes!  I used to do the short bios (me, the TAs, the students) when I taught large undergraduate courses, to help me learn names.  And get a little sense of the students' personalities based on their "fun fact".  I will definitely be doing the bios this Fall.  
I am debating between a PPT/Google slide format or short Zoom video recordings.  A friend of mine is created an intro video in the mode of the Wired autocomplete interviews (e.g., https://www.wired.com/video/watch/kermit-and-miss-piggy-answer-the-webs-most-searched-questions); we created a fictional list of the most-searched questions for her to answer.  Definitely more work, but great fun for all!

------------------------------
Judy Liu A.M.ASCE
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 09:45 AM
From: Carolyn Rodak
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi Everyone,
To build rapport, I usually share a short bio with my students the first day of class.  This year I will share my bio in a google slides document and have each one of my students fill out their own slide with name, picture, hometown, facts about themselves, etc. as part of their first week activities.  The great thing about this is that students can also learn about each other.  A second way to do this is to use a biosketch discussion board thread and have every student post their bio.  If you plan to use discussion boards this is a great option because it allows students to learn how to use the discussion board.
Regardless of how I share my bio, a silly photo is always a must.  So, here's a photo from the 2019 USMA ExCEEd workshop, Go Team TRON!
-Carolyn

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------

Hi Judy, thanks for sharing the link!  That is such a great idea.  If I've learned anything from the posts here it's that I need to get in front of the camera more this fall :)

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 08:45 PM
From: Judy Liu
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Yes!  I used to do the short bios (me, the TAs, the students) when I taught large undergraduate courses, to help me learn names.  And get a little sense of the students' personalities based on their "fun fact".  I will definitely be doing the bios this Fall.
I am debating between a PPT/Google slide format or short Zoom video recordings.  A friend of mine is created an intro video in the mode of the Wired autocomplete interviews (e.g., https://www.wired.com/video/watch/kermit-and-miss-piggy-answer-the-webs-most-searched-questions); we created a fictional list of the most-searched questions for her to answer.  Definitely more work, but great fun for all!

------------------------------
Judy Liu A.M.ASCE
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 09:45 AM
From: Carolyn Rodak
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi Everyone,
To build rapport, I usually share a short bio with my students the first day of class.  This year I will share my bio in a google slides document and have each one of my students fill out their own slide with name, picture, hometown, facts about themselves, etc. as part of their first week activities.  The great thing about this is that students can also learn about each other.  A second way to do this is to use a biosketch discussion board thread and have every student post their bio.  If you plan to use discussion boards this is a great option because it allows students to learn how to use the discussion board.
Regardless of how I share my bio, a silly photo is always a must.  So, here's a photo from the 2019 USMA ExCEEd workshop, Go Team TRON!
-Carolyn

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY

Even asynchronous, we need to get to know our students through a data sheet as an assignment. This way you can refer to their experience during class. Need higher levels of excitement and work on developing rapport with students outside of the asynchronous part of the course through discussion boards, office hours, team meetings, etc.

------------------------------
Ronald Welch P.E., F.ASCE
Dean
Mount Pleasant SC
------------------------------

Great suggestion, Ron!  I hadn't used Google forms before this summer, but they're really easy to set up (as we used in the pre-session survey). I really like Kweku's suggestion of a short video introducing yourself too.

------------------------------
Camilla Saviz Ph.D., P.E., ENV SP, F.ASCE
Professor
Stockton CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 03:48 PM
From: Ronald Welch
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Even asynchronous, we need to get to know our students through a data sheet as an assignment. This way you can refer to their experience during class. Need higher levels of excitement and work on developing rapport with students outside of the asynchronous part of the course through discussion boards, office hours, team meetings, etc.

------------------------------
Ronald Welch P.E., F.ASCE
Dean
Mount Pleasant SC
------------------------------

You could start the semester with a pre-course questionnaire to have each student give a short piece on who they are, where they are from and what they expect to get out of the class. They you could post a video of yourself, talking about who you (the professor) are and what your journey has been. Possibly, highlighting some lows and highs so that most people can relate as most people would have both setbacks and successes in life. This will put a human element to the class and students would be more likely to open up and be more forthcoming to email and ask for help with course work

------------------------------
Kweku Brown Ph.D.,A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
The Citadel
Charleston SC
------------------------------

I think creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment is an exciting challenge. I think many ExCEEd principles apply here. I especially like drama in recorded video. Recorded video, like the classroom should be exciting, relatively fast paced, and include personal details (professional experience, family, hobbies, etc.). This breaks down the barriers for students as they decide how much they might want to share with the instructor. Personal feedback to students is key to developing rapport when you aren't meeting in person; do it early, do it often! Another fun tool is to offer video-based assignments from you and request video responses from students. That way you are able to see faces, watch non-verbals, etc. even without real-time interaction.

------------------------------
Charles Riley Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Associate Professor
Klamath Falls OR
------------------------------

I like the idea of the video-based assignments. I have not done in the past and I am planning on implementing one video assignment this fall. Guiding students on what is expected is very important, and limiting the time of the video is critical (short , not to exceed 2 minutes). I have observed sample video-submissions recorded by the instructor where it is clearly showing the elements required in the submission while meeting the time requirements. 
I do have a hesitation to do this, students may need to edit the video and this could take longer than the assignment itself . When preparing the assignment the guidelines need to consider this. With effective guidelines and clear objectives this can be a great way to create rapport and engage students in the asynchronous environment.

------------------------------
[Monica][Palomo]
[Associate Professor]
[Cal Poly Pomona]
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 04:32 PM
From: Charles Riley
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

I think creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment is an exciting challenge. I think many ExCEEd principles apply here. I especially like drama in recorded video. Recorded video, like the classroom should be exciting, relatively fast paced, and include personal details (professional experience, family, hobbies, etc.). This breaks down the barriers for students as they decide how much they might want to share with the instructor. Personal feedback to students is key to developing rapport when you aren't meeting in person; do it early, do it often! Another fun tool is to offer video-based assignments from you and request video responses from students. That way you are able to see faces, watch non-verbals, etc. even without real-time interaction.

------------------------------
Charles Riley Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Associate Professor
Klamath Falls OR
------------------------------

I teach computer and its applications this semester. I will have the students fill out a short survey which includes questions about themselves and also the course syllabus. I use google forms to create the questionnaire and also collect the responses. 

Thanks,

 

Maziar Moaveni, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Assistant Professor & Program Coordinator

Secretary, TRB AKM 80 Aggregates Committee

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Department of Engineering Technology (Civil) – Room 221 

College of Science & Technology
Email: moavenim@...
Phone: (912) 358-3283
3219 College Street Box 20411

Savannah, GA 31404

------------------------------
Maziar Moaveni Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Principal Engineer
College of Science and Technology
Savannah GA
------------------------------

Hi Maziar! Do you cover specific programs / skills in your class?  I teach a course on Excel, Matlab, and CAD in the Spring and as part of my pre-survey I ask the students to rank their proficiency with the programs (some have used programs before, particularly excel).  I find it is helpful for me as the instructor but I also share the results with the students who are surprisingly intimidated by the course.  Sharing the results puts them at ease when they realize they are just like everyone else.

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-03-2020 07:40 PM
From: Maziar Moaveni
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

I teach computer and its applications this semester. I will have the students fill out a short survey which includes questions about themselves and also the course syllabus. I use google forms to create the questionnaire and also collect the responses.

Thanks,

 

Maziar Moaveni, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Assistant Professor & Program Coordinator

Secretary, TRB AKM 80 Aggregates Committee

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Department of Engineering Technology (Civil) – Room 221 

College of Science & Technology
Email: <maskemail>moavenim@...</maskemail>
Phone: (912) 358-3283
3219 College Street Box 20411

Savannah, GA 31404

------------------------------
Maziar Moaveni Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Principal Engineer
College of Science and Technology
Savannah GA
------------------------------

Hi, everyone.

To help start building interpersonal rapport in a pre-COVID, 60 student (world wide attendees with English language proficiency required), asynchronous, on-line, engineer, introduction to leadership course that I taught, I, too, required all students to produce and post a 30 second to 1 minute video introducing themselves to all of us in the course.  To help them out & role model what this video could be, I also produced and posted my own 55 second video introduce myself to the class (containing all the previously posted elements I wanted them to provide in their own video).  For the record, most of the student products were far superior to mine.

I chose this path (video production) for several reasons that I disclosed to the students when I assigned the video in the pre-class materials before our first meeting--I knew that I   would be having them produce another video of their small group presentation on a case study activity that they would perform later in the semester, I thought that the creative side of these engineers would blossom (in general it did)--helpful with left-brain engineers in a right-brain subject area like leadership, it broke the ice between students and me--and more importantly, between the individual students as well, and we all got to know each other before our first class attendance.

I do appreciate and applaud the manner in which the "faculty" of the ASCE ECX workshops are serving as positive role models for us all  as they demonstrate how to effectively use this Collaborate space to build interpersonal rapport in the virtual arena.  Well done to Carolyn, Camilla, Monica, Al, Dion, and others.

"See you all" at the next ECX.

------------------------------
James O'Brien P.E.,M.ASCE
Fairfax VA
------------------------------

The videos sound great, especially as they also served as a 'warm-up' for the group assignment.  Have you also used the "intro slide" format for the bios, and if so, do you think one format (slide or video) is preferred over the other?  I am still trying to decide which way to go for my class this Fall.

Maybe a question for all -- thinking about equity and the practice of offering students different options, should I let the students pick their medium?  Same basic requirements, but they could let their creativity shine in a video or with photo(s) and text on a slide?

------------------------------
Judy Liu A.M.ASCE
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2020 12:31 PM
From: James O'Brien
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi, everyone.

To help start building interpersonal rapport in a pre-COVID, 60 student (world wide attendees with English language proficiency required), asynchronous, on-line, engineer, introduction to leadership course that I taught, I, too, required all students to produce and post a 30 second to 1 minute video introducing themselves to all of us in the course.  To help them out & role model what this video could be, I also produced and posted my own 55 second video introduce myself to the class (containing all the previously posted elements I wanted them to provide in their own video).  For the record, most of the student products were far superior to mine.

I chose this path (video production) for several reasons that I disclosed to the students when I assigned the video in the pre-class materials before our first meeting--I knew that I   would be having them produce another video of their small group presentation on a case study activity that they would perform later in the semester, I thought that the creative side of these engineers would blossom (in general it did)--helpful with left-brain engineers in a right-brain subject area like leadership, it broke the ice between students and me--and more importantly, between the individual students as well, and we all got to know each other before our first class attendance.

I do appreciate and applaud the manner in which the "faculty" of the ASCE ECX workshops are serving as positive role models for us all  as they demonstrate how to effectively use this Collaborate space to build interpersonal rapport in the virtual arena.  Well done to Carolyn, Camilla, Monica, Al, Dion, and others.

"See you all" at the next ECX.

------------------------------
James O'Brien P.E.,M.ASCE
Fairfax VA
------------------------------

Hi Judy! This is a great question, I hope others see it as well.  I think it is always a good idea to give students options when there is potential for unequal access to technology or materials (particularly if it is an individual activity).
I added a...pre-pre-survey?... to my classes this year which I sent out about a week ago to my students asking about what technology they will have regular access to this Fall.  It's been very helpful and I've already been able to identify and discuss potential accommodations for a student who does not have regular access to internet.

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2020 02:16 PM
From: Judy Liu
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

The videos sound great, especially as they also served as a 'warm-up' for the group assignment.  Have you also used the "intro slide" format for the bios, and if so, do you think one format (slide or video) is preferred over the other?  I am still trying to decide which way to go for my class this Fall.

Maybe a question for all -- thinking about equity and the practice of offering students different options, should I let the students pick their medium?  Same basic requirements, but they could let their creativity shine in a video or with photo(s) and text on a slide?

------------------------------
Judy Liu A.M.ASCE
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2020 12:31 PM
From: James O'Brien
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi, everyone.

To help start building interpersonal rapport in a pre-COVID, 60 student (world wide attendees with English language proficiency required), asynchronous, on-line, engineer, introduction to leadership course that I taught, I, too, required all students to produce and post a 30 second to 1 minute video introducing themselves to all of us in the course.  To help them out & role model what this video could be, I also produced and posted my own 55 second video introduce myself to the class (containing all the previously posted elements I wanted them to provide in their own video).  For the record, most of the student products were far superior to mine.

I chose this path (video production) for several reasons that I disclosed to the students when I assigned the video in the pre-class materials before our first meeting--I knew that I   would be having them produce another video of their small group presentation on a case study activity that they would perform later in the semester, I thought that the creative side of these engineers would blossom (in general it did)--helpful with left-brain engineers in a right-brain subject area like leadership, it broke the ice between students and me--and more importantly, between the individual students as well, and we all got to know each other before our first class attendance.

I do appreciate and applaud the manner in which the "faculty" of the ASCE ECX workshops are serving as positive role models for us all  as they demonstrate how to effectively use this Collaborate space to build interpersonal rapport in the virtual arena.  Well done to Carolyn, Camilla, Monica, Al, Dion, and others.

"See you all" at the next ECX.

------------------------------
James O'Brien P.E.,M.ASCE
Fairfax VA

Carolyn --  the pre-pre-survey with questions about access to technology, etc. is really great; that was one of the first ideas I scribbled down during the session on Monday. Luckily we are on the quarter system here, so I have a little more time to get organized.
Thanks for all of the great tips and input.
Judy


------------------------------
Judy Liu A.M.ASCE
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2020 05:43 PM
From: Carolyn Rodak
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi Judy! This is a great question, I hope others see it as well.  I think it is always a good idea to give students options when there is potential for unequal access to technology or materials (particularly if it is an individual activity).
I added a...pre-pre-survey?... to my classes this year which I sent out about a week ago to my students asking about what technology they will have regular access to this Fall.  It's been very helpful and I've already been able to identify and discuss potential accommodations for a student who does not have regular access to internet.

------------------------------
Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2020 02:16 PM
From: Judy Liu
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

The videos sound great, especially as they also served as a 'warm-up' for the group assignment.  Have you also used the "intro slide" format for the bios, and if so, do you think one format (slide or video) is preferred over the other?  I am still trying to decide which way to go for my class this Fall.

Maybe a question for all -- thinking about equity and the practice of offering students different options, should I let the students pick their medium?  Same basic requirements, but they could let their creativity shine in a video or with photo(s) and text on a slide?

------------------------------
Judy Liu A.M.ASCE
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR


Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2020 12:31 PM
From: James O'Brien
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi, everyone.

To help start building interpersonal rapport in a pre-COVID, 60 student (world wide attendees with English language proficiency required), asynchronous, on-line, engineer, introduction to leadership course that I taught, I, too, required all students to produce and post a 30 second to 1 minute video introducing themselves to all of us in the course.  To help them out & role model what this video could be, I also produced and posted my own 55 second video introduce myself to the class (containing all the previously posted elements I wanted them to provide in their own video).  For the record, most of the student products were far superior to mine.

I chose this path (video production) for several reasons that I disclosed to the students when I assigned the video in the pre-class materials before our first meeting--I knew that I   would be having them produce another video of their small group presentation on a case study activity that they would perform later in the semester, I thought that the creative side of these engineers would blossom (in general it did)--helpful with left-brain engineers in a right-brain subject area like leadership, it broke the ice between students and me--and more importantly, between the individual students as well, and we all got to know each other before our first class attendance.

I do appreciate and applaud the manner in which the "faculty" of the ASCE ECX workshops are serving as positive role models for us all  as they demonstrate how to effectively use this Collaborate space to build interpersonal rapport in the virtual arena.  Well done to Carolyn, Camilla, Monica, Al, Dion, and others.

"See you all" at the next ECX.

------------------------------
James O'Brien P.E.,M.ASCE
Fairfax VA

Great point about being more inclusive by offering students options for the medium to submit their bios... not just to accommodate those with limited access to smart phones or internet, but also to provide options for students to express their creativity in different ways that may work best for them.  In our LMS (we use Canvas) you can allow them to submit a different file types to satisfy the requirement (e.g. a video, a ppt slide, etc.).

In addition to me trying to develop positive rapport with my students, I have been thinking about how to develop that community and rapport amongst students. For a large class (I'm thinking of some of my classes with 45-75 students), you could also have students do "peer reviews" of fellow students' bios over the first few weeks of class, since it may be unrealistic for them to go through all the student intro videos/slides at once. For example, in Canvas, you can assign peer-reviews pretty easily for an assignment. You can have each student provide a peer review of 5-10 students' bio video/slide (you can have them do this for multiple weeks or until they've gone through the entire class). To complete a "peer review" in Canvas, the student has to write a comment, so you can ask students to identify something in their comments that they have in common with the other student or have them ask another question to get to know them better.

------------------------------
Patricia Clayton Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
Austin TX
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2020 02:16 PM
From: Judy Liu
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

The videos sound great, especially as they also served as a 'warm-up' for the group assignment.  Have you also used the "intro slide" format for the bios, and if so, do you think one format (slide or video) is preferred over the other?  I am still trying to decide which way to go for my class this Fall.

Maybe a question for all -- thinking about equity and the practice of offering students different options, should I let the students pick their medium?  Same basic requirements, but they could let their creativity shine in a video or with photo(s) and text on a slide?

------------------------------
Judy Liu A.M.ASCE
Professor
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 08-04-2020 12:31 PM
From: James O'Brien
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi, everyone.

To help start building interpersonal rapport in a pre-COVID, 60 student (world wide attendees with English language proficiency required), asynchronous, on-line, engineer, introduction to leadership course that I taught, I, too, required all students to produce and post a 30 second to 1 minute video introducing themselves to all of us in the course.  To help them out & role model what this video could be, I also produced and posted my own 55 second video introduce myself to the class (containing all the previously posted elements I wanted them to provide in their own video).  For the record, most of the student products were far superior to mine.

I chose this path (video production) for several reasons that I disclosed to the students when I assigned the video in the pre-class materials before our first meeting--I knew that I   would be having them produce another video of their small group presentation on a case study activity that they would perform later in the semester, I thought that the creative side of these engineers would blossom (in general it did)--helpful with left-brain engineers in a right-brain subject area like leadership, it broke the ice between students and me--and more importantly, between the individual students as well, and we all got to know each other before our first class attendance.

I do appreciate and applaud the manner in which the "faculty" of the ASCE ECX workshops are serving as positive role models for us all  as they demonstrate how to effectively use this Collaborate space to build interpersonal rapport in the virtual arena.  Well done to Carolyn, Camilla, Monica, Al, Dion, and others.

"See you all" at the next ECX.

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James O'Brien P.E.,M.ASCE
Fairfax VA

Hi Everyone,

In the first week of asynchronous class I will ask students to introduce themselves via discussion board in Canvas. I will ask them to tell us about themselves (hometown, what excites them about this class, what frightens them about this class, and for fun and breaking the ice: the first and last song/music they purchased and in what format (disc, tape, download, etc.). If they like, they could embed the music from their favorite music streaming Web site. I always play student favorite songs before the classes (thank you ExCEED for showing me this) and students love it. So in this way we can share our favorite music online too.

To enhance inclusivity and ensure accessibility I will offer students to post text, audio or video response on the discussion board, whatever works the best for them.

I also plan to record my video introduction  and later on throughout the semester use videos rather than text for announcements and assignment feedback as well. I think it would be more personable.

Svetlana Olbina, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Associate Professor 
Colorado State University

Fort Collins CO

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Hi all,

Like others have already mentioned, I will require students to complete a student profile sheet as part of the first homework assignment, and I then distribute a faculty profile sheet with answers to the same questions. I ask students to identify their basic information, activities and interests, hobbies, professional experience (if any), favorite movies and music, and (optionally) the best Halloween costume they have ever had. Flash forward to October 31: students will be awarded some nominal extra credit for attending class (in person or virtually) or posting a picture in a Halloween costume, and they will receive additional points if the costume is related to geotechnical engineering. Over the years, students have dressed up as flow nets, stress elements, soil classification charts, Karl Terzaghi, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It's a great way to build rapport in the middle of the semester while emphasizing some of the key themes from the course.

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Jim Kaklamanos, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Associate Professor
Merrimack College
North Andover MA
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Hi Jim - what a wonderful idea for a mid-semester activity. I will definitely be stealing this come Halloween!


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Carolyn Rodak Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-05-2020 10:43 AM
From: James Kaklamanos
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi all,

Like others have already mentioned, I will require students to complete a student profile sheet as part of the first homework assignment, and I then distribute a faculty profile sheet with answers to the same questions. I ask students to identify their basic information, activities and interests, hobbies, professional experience (if any), favorite movies and music, and (optionally) the best Halloween costume they have ever had. Flash forward to October 31: students will be awarded some nominal extra credit for attending class (in person or virtually) or posting a picture in a Halloween costume, and they will receive additional points if the costume is related to geotechnical engineering. Over the years, students have dressed up as flow nets, stress elements, soil classification charts, Karl Terzaghi, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It's a great way to build rapport in the middle of the semester while emphasizing some of the key themes from the course.

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Jim Kaklamanos, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Associate Professor
Merrimack College
North Andover MA
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Hi. Part of maintaining engagement asynchronously is producing engaging videos for students that are short (~15min) and small (~2MB/min) so they are downloadable even for students with connectivity or disk space issues.

AND SO ... I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on video editing softwares that produce small videos with good sound quality? I usually record the videos in Zoom first - and that results in a reasonable file size. However, I would like to be able to edit the files - to add titles and also to edit out bloopers (mostly when the dog starts barking like mad). I've tried Adobe Premier but been unable to end up with something that isn't ~35MB/min. I also tried Camtasia but the sound quality turned out poorly.  Suggestions?

Take care,
Beth

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Beth Wittig, Ph.D., P.E., LEED A.P.
Associate Professor and Chairperson
CUNY City College of New York
New York, NY

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Beth Wittig
Associate Professor and Chairperson of Civil Engineering
New York NY
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I like ScreenCast-o-matic  (https://screencast-o-matic.com/) for video recording and editing. There is a free version without (or with very limited editing capabilities) and a couple of paid options that allow for longer videos and more editing options. The free version has worked fine for me for years when recording short, supplemental examples. In Spring 2020, I bought the lowest level subscription for more editing capabilities, and it has worked out great (I thought it was a better deal than Camtasia)!

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Patricia Clayton Ph.D., A.M.ASCE
Assistant Professor
Austin TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-05-2020 01:01 PM
From: Beth Wittig
Subject: Creating positive rapport in an asynchronous environment

Hi. Part of maintaining engagement asynchronously is producing engaging videos for students that are short (~15min) and small (~2MB/min) so they are downloadable even for students with connectivity or disk space issues.

AND SO ... I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on video editing softwares that produce small videos with good sound quality? I usually record the videos in Zoom first - and that results in a reasonable file size. However, I would like to be able to edit the files - to add titles and also to edit out bloopers (mostly when the dog starts barking like mad). I've tried Adobe Premier but been unable to end up with something that isn't ~35MB/min. I also tried Camtasia but the sound quality turned out poorly.  Suggestions?

Take care,
Beth

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Beth Wittig, Ph.D., P.E., LEED A.P.
Associate Professor and Chairperson
CUNY City College of New York
New York, NY

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Beth Wittig
Associate Professor and Chairperson of Civil Engineering
New York NY
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After yesterday's great seminar, I was thinking about ways to build community in my course of first year students.  I planned on having each student create a very short video (30 secs) describing their three favorite things (I would do the same).  Then to help us all get to know each other, I was thinking of regularly using Kahoot's at the start of synchronous meetings and having fun quizzes for getting to know each other.  So, showing a students photo and the question being their name.  Or if there are three kids who listed something as a favorite thing, then putting them all up with a fourth student and asking who didn't list 'x' as a favorite thing.  

Thoughts?  Lame or fun?

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Tonya Nilsson P.E.,M.ASCE
Senior Lecturer
San Jose CA
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