The Heart of the Matter: Creating Invitational Classrooms in Online Learning

Until fairly recently, online education was primarily located within the purview of individualized programs or distance universities. In the past decade, “online” has become common across post-secondary institutions as technology has created opportunities for connecting globally. While these opportunities can be exciting, they also pose challenges for engaging learners in meaningful ways. How can we as teachers inspire our students and be real and present in the online classroom? Based on three decades of distance and online teaching experience, my colleagues and I have learned that while online programs have proliferated and technology has moved at lighteningspeed, creating invitational, collaborative online classrooms requires creative and intentional instructional strategies that differ from face-to-face education. We have learned that the teacher still matters and must use deliberate actions and strategies to help students feel part of the learning community. Teacher presence in the online classroom is a crucial aspect of dynamic learning environments. In this paper, innovative strategies (Artistic Pedagogical Technologies) for engaging students and creating invitational online classrooms will be introduced.