Distance education continues to evolve since its origin in the early 1900s. Distance education is of great benefit, in that it provides a flexible and creative connection to learning that may not be accessible traditionally due to several external factors (i.e. funding, crowded classrooms, military duties, or work-life balance). Although distance education provides several benefits, there are two factors that can hinder the experience, the lack of social connectedness and a collaborative spirit. This poster presentation defines social connectedness and collaborative spirit and provides elements that can be used to increase both concepts (i.e. providing a personable instructor profile and welcome message, learning styles inventory as an ice breaker, weekly advising messages and quotes to students, incorporating movies and poll everywhere to engage student learning, and providing useful feedback) to offer the online student a more personable learning experience.

Social Connectedness

“The measure of how people come together and interact” (Wikipedia, para 1, 2015).

Collaborative Spirit

“The process of two or more people or organizations working together to realize shared goals”, (Wikipedia, para 1, 2016).

Introduction

Social Connectedness and Collaborative Spirit

3 Instructor Profile: A personable aspect of you

Ways to Foster Social Connectedness

7 Inspirations and Quotes: Share Quotes/an Inspiration (via Email/Announcements) Once a Week

8 Incorporating Real-Life Events or Movies

9 Using Poll Everyone to Engage Your Students

10 Engaging Feedback

Ways to Foster Collaborative Spirit 11 Additional Tips for Student and Instructor Success

ReferencesBanks, R. (2016). Psych One Conference Stanford University. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORCPARgSQ_E

Belinkie, M. (2008). 40 inspirational speeches in 2 minutes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wRkzCW5qI

Bixler, B. (n.d.). Learning styles inventory. Retrieved from http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm

Canvas LMS. (2015). Humanizing online instruction. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us7w1b7UVwU

Education Planner. (2011). Learning styles quiz. Retrieved from http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml

Educause. (2013). 8 Lessons learned from teaching online. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp4BG4Me7TU

FacilitadorTube. (2010). E-learning: How to deliver an engaging virtual classroom presentation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxY22IhbaH4

Faulkner, B. (2013). The Devil Wears Prada downward social comparison. Retrieve from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3gGkiWSzvg

Kulowiec, G. (2011). EdTech Teacher Poll Everywhere tutorial. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZwPL8Ef-CY

Getzlaf, B., Perry, B., Toffner, G., Lamarche, K., & Edwards, M. (2009). Effective instructor feedback: Perceptions of online graduate students. Journal Of Educators Online, 6(2).

Lane, E. (2015). Collaborative Spirit of Millennial Generation may benefit Big Science. Retrieved from http://www.aaas.org/news/collaborative-spirit-millennial-generation-may-benefit-big-science

McDaniel, A. (2009). Online student experience. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWPI35WGsTc

Smith, V., & Palenque, S. (2015). Ten Tips for More Efficient and Effective Grading. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational- assessment/ten-tips-efficient-effective-grading/

Spread-The-Word. (2013). Ten free online proofreading tools. Retrieved from http://www.spread-the-word.co.za/free-proofreading-tools/

SquaredOnline. (2015). The Squared Online student experience. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlPoJfXDgqc

TED. (2012). Daphne Koller: What we’re learning from online education. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6FvJ6jMGHU

The Penguin Prof. (2010). How to manage time, reduce stress and increase happiness. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4YVLkuRBe8

The Social Report. (2010). Social connectedness. Retrieved from http://socialreport.msd.govt.nz/social-connectedness/

U.S. News Education. (2014). Online students share time management tips. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2FWUQvlths

Wikipedia. (2016). Collaborative Spirit. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaboration

Wikipedia. (2015). Social connectedness. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_connectedness

13 Connect

R. Felicia Banks, PhDITT Technical Institute, Online General Education

Preventing Boundaries in Online Education Through Social Connectedness and a Collaborative Spirit

4 Welcome Message: Create an inviting environment

5 Learning Styles Inventory: Serves as an icebreaker

6 Advising Messages: Provide Quantitative (Grade Average) and Qualitative (Action Plan) information in a Personal Email to Student (Suggested Subject Lines are Below)

Slides 3-6 focus on Social Connectedness slides 7-11 and 13 focus on Collaborative Spirit:Slide #3: The Instructor Profile should be personable Slide #4: The Welcome Message, in addition to the Instructor Profile, are a means of first impression of the instructor, therefore, they should both be personableSlide #5: Learning Styles Inventory can be used as an icebreaker on the first day/the first week of the courseSlide #6: Advising Messages can be used to stay connected with your students and to keep them informed of their grade status Slide # 7: Inspirations and Quotes: Can be used to keep your students motivated Slide #8: Incorporating real-life events, such as the movie Devil Wears Prada, to convey social comparison may assist your students in understanding conceptsSlide # 9: Poll Everywhere: Can be used as an icebreaker/to engage your students throughout the semesterSlide #10: Providing Engaging/Constructive Feedback: May help your students to think more critically about the topics, Smith & Palenque (2015) provide 10 tips on efficient and effective gradingSlide # 11: Additional Tips for Instructor and Student Success: Helpful tips to use in online learning environments Slide #13: A one-hour youtube clip of online resources, please scan the QR code with your cellphone to view

Greetings Everyone and Welcome! My name is Romona Banks, you can call me Mrs./Instructor/Professor Banks. I hail from North Carolina by way of South Carolina. I obtained my bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from South Carolina State University, my Masters in Business Administration (concentration in Human Resources) from Strayer University and my doctoral degree in Psychology (concentration in Organizational Psychology) from Walden University (Research Title: Selected Predictors of Youth Development in Boys and Girls clubs).

My research interests are inclusive to predictors of positive youth development (motivation and success), enhancing the e-learning/distance learning process, sustainability of nonprofit organizations and predictors of workplace performance. My professional experiences consist of the National Guard (Army and Air), a facilitator for nonprofit organizations, and banking/financial management from 1998-2010. For the past five years I have been instructing General and Social Psychology, Research Methods, Community Organizing and Development, and Health Communication online courses. In addition to having the pleasure to instruct at two colleges, I am also a Career and Life Coach.

My husband and I love to travel in our spare time. We also love watching movies (we are huge Marvel and DC Comic fans), we also enjoy television series (our favorite shows, to name a few, are Ray Donovan, Game of Thrones, Vikings, Orphan Black, House of Cards, Black Box, Fargo, Happy Valley, Elementary, Sense 8, The Flash, and Dare Devil-Netflix series, and So You Think You Can Dance). I also love to collect coin and exercise (I love yoga, jazzercise and walking in the park).

I look forward to your introductions and discussions! Anytime that you have a question regarding the course, please don't hesitate to contact me via the, "Ask Your Instructor" link or email.

Prof. Banks

Greetings Everyone & Welcome to Social Psychology,Could you please introduce yourself to your classmates and me (in the Post Your Introduction discussion).What are your expectations from this course, and what are some of the specific skills you wish to acquire in the next five weeks? What experience, if any, do you have in psychology? Have you taken a psychology or social sciences class in the past? Can you describe the relevance of social psychology to your life and career? How do you think this course will help you reach your career goals and aspirations?

Lastly, I would like to invite you to take a Learning Styles Inventory (http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml) and discuss your findings (along with your introduction in the Discussion Forum). You can answer any one or all of the previously listed questions. If you have any questions, please let me know. Once again, welcome and I look forward to your introductions!

Prof. Banks