Enhancing Students' Online Experiences

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many educational institutions offering mainly face-to-face courses were forced to switch to online ones. This chapter presents a compilation of good practices adopted during the synchronous online lessons carried out via Skype for Business in two undergraduate courses at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The results of the summative evaluation, obtained through questionnaires at the end of the semester, as well as through formative evaluation throughout the semester, support that using the proper communication and collaborative tools, increasing interaction, immediacy, and intimacy with the instructor, and developing an atmosphere of respect, trust, and collaboration, could immerse students in an interactive synchronous online experience and help them develop a positive attitude towards online learning. An exceptional issue, pointed out by most of the students, was the online presence of “Carrot,” the instructor's cat, that enhanced student-teacher and student-student immediacy and intimacy.