My online course has doubled in size this term so I have been anticipating a big increase in my workload. The initial series of emails and getting-started instructions did grow, but they were manageable largely due to some of the great tools I learned in the Pedagogy First program last year such as creating short introductory tutorial videos that I can post or send to confused students and saving standard email replies for frequently asked questions.

Now things are relatively quiet.     photo credit: Neal. via photopin cc

I keep wondering if there is something horribly wrong that I have not caught.

photo credit: Domiriel via photopin cc

Nope.

Discussions are going well, assignments are better than I have ever seen in the course, and only a very few students are encountering any true technical abilities. But, I keep wondering, “Is there anybody out there?”

photo credit: moominsean via photopin cc

This year I have added a significant number of introductory videos, extra links for course resources, example essays from previous terms, and more FAQs. Maybe all these additions are actually working. Maybe the silence I am experiencing is not student apathy or confusion, but maybe, just maybe, the course is working better for this group of students.