Let Them See You

Visibility is a key component of successful online instruction and comes in many shapes and sizes. Visibility is represented by how often you participate, if you show your personality, and even if you show your face. If a student is able to make a connection with their instructor, their success in that course goes up. A student is more likely to interact and, therefore, succeed in a course where they feel the instructor is involved and the only way a student knows if an instructor is involved is if they are visible.

A bunch of text on a screen is very impersonal and un-engaging. But, if you add a little of yourself to that text and bring your own personality to what is being said, it is easier to realize there is a person behind all that text. Even more, if you add your face...

Suddenly, you are present and the students see you as a person. Now, obviously, you don't want to add your picture on everything you do and you don't need to. If you put your picture in a location that all students will see it at least once, that is usually all they need.

One location some instructors like to add their picture is to the About this Section nugget on the course home page. Here is how you do that:

1. Go to your course
2. Be sure you are on the Course tab
3. Look for a nugget (one of the boxes with the black bar on the top) that is called “About This Section”
   1. If you do not have that nugget, click the Edit Page link
   2. Click the Add Components button
   3. Check the box next to the About This Course item
   4. Click the Add Selected button
   5. Click the Save button in the upper right
4. Place your mouse over the black bar on the About This Section nugget and a pencil button should appear, click the pencil
5. In the text box, delete anything that is already there
6. Then click the Insert/Edit Image button
7. Click the Browse Server button
8. Click the Browse button
9. Find and open your picture on your computer
10. Click the Upload File button
11. In the box above the Upload File button, click the name of the picture you just uploaded
12. In the Alternative Text box, type your name
13. Make sure the image size isn’t too big or too small (typically between 150-400 is pretty good)
14. Click the OK button
15. Your image should now appear in the text box, you can type your name under it if you would like
16. When you are done adding any text you want, click the Save button

Your picture should now be showing on your course home page and you have increased your visibility to your students. This is just the first step in the visibility issue. Try to keep on top of participating and adding personality to the rest of your course to keep your students active and engaged.