Enhancing student engagement in the online classroom

Student engagement has been shown to be an important factor affecting the success of online instruction. However, the unique nature of online instruction requires that we investigate new methods of engaging students. This paper proposes several methods of engaging the learner through the online format. Most of the methods are relatively simple to implement and include phone calls, use of e-mails, announcements, avatars and an online Office. The paper also proposes focused, purposeful use of the learning management system´s synchronous interactive online instruction features by engaging in live instructional discussions with students centered on difficult course concepts.