How do you encourage your students to participate in the Q&A section of your course?

Hey hey,

One of the tricky parts of teaching an online course can be getting students to actually use the Q&A section. Without live interaction, it’s easy for learners to just watch the videos and move on, even if they have questions.

The Q&A can be a great space for clearing up confusion, sharing ideas, and creating a little sense of community in an otherwise “solo” learning experience. Some instructors drop reminders in their lessons, others ask specific questions or give small challenges to spark discussions.

How do you encourage your learners to participate in the Q&A section of your course?

Can’t wait to hear your best practices!

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

LawrenceMMiller

@MarinaT If we are very honest, and with several hundred thousand students, do we really want to encourage students to ask a lot of questions? I respond almost immediately to every question that a student asks. But too often the question is "Can you send me my certificate of completion?" Of course the answer is no. It is unusual that I get a genuinely thoughtful question that isn't answered in the course material. And, with the new AI Assistant, the student can get their questions answered there.

I understand that from a pedagogical standpoint student-instructor dialogue enhances learning. But, we have to recognize the practical limitation of the current system, given the level of instructor compensation per student.

ThomasMitchell

I don't. Udemy pays me like $4 per enrollment (if I'm lucky). I'm not encouraging anything extra from students for that compensation.

RonErez

The first lecture of my course always encourages students to ask questions and use the course Q&A. I also respond to every review and usually mention that they can feel free to ask questions or send requests or suggestions via the course Q&A or even direct messaging. My biggest course only has about 5300 paying students so if they were all to ask questions it would be unmanageable. In practice only a handful of students ever ask questions and those specific students tend to ask a lot of questions which can be cool. Occasionally, though, a student will ask a question without making any effort, like pasting a long block of unreadable code and asking me to find the problem. I do my best to stay polite and helpful, but situations like that can be a bit unreasonable.

ChrisBankes120

Here are thirty-two that i can think of…

1. Case Studies.

If a student is new and seems apprehensive then I write a case study round her/his interests. So if her name is Sara from Argentina, I write a case study about Manglos a student in Argentina and have Argentinian proverbs etc etc. At the end of the Case Study are discussion questions.

Most of my courses include Case Studies anyway - usually about 50 - and these all encourage discussion.

2. Youtube clips.

I may show a 20 second clip from Youtube and ask students to follow the link and watch the whole film, summarise it, mind map it, post the mind map and discuss.

At the end of the lecture in which the Youtube video clip appears I list questions based on the whole Youtube film

3. I encourage students to network, introduce themselves etc

4. I include websites in the lectures and set as homework for students to go to the website, read and then put in the Q/A what the key points are

5. For Business/Economics courses I set homework for students to analyse policy in their own country and post about it

6. I put a Business idea and ask for comments

7. I encourage students to write books and link to them in the Q/A. I also publicise the books in the Educational Announcement.

8. I put controversial thoughts up and ask for discussion. For example about the ethics of Asda selling bacon and alcohol which - given the owners and their 'devout' nature - is against Islam. Also about virus origins; Hamas and news media etc (It depends on the course)

9. Multiple choice questions. Students have to give the answer and if their answer disagrees with anyone else's, to explain why

10. I set art therapy exercises for business courses and business ideas in art therapy courses. Always asking for feedback and comments

11. In Business courses I ask students to discuss wellness programs at their place of work

12. In stress-type courses I ask students to write about their stress and also to interview Udemy instructors if they're on another course

13. My courses offer a Diploma of Achievement. It's difficult to get - fewer than 20 out of 250,000 have achieved it. It's definitely not a marketing tool. To achieve, one of the things you have to do is post a lot in the Q/A. Some students post in excess of 500 times.

14. I respond to most reviews (not ratings) especially if 1 star. And especially if the reviewer is lying. This does not always go down well. (See Udemy for Business comment below)

15. Suggest students state time they're going to watch particular lectures so others may watch at the same time and then all post comments.

16.Set challenges such as : finish this manual by Xmas; do 6 case studies by end of the month ; do daily art exercises for August etc etc

17. Ask for advice. On a Business course I asked students to follow the Udemy stock prices etc (as Udemy is what we all have in common) and give advice as to whether to invest. The 'client' was an imaginary investor with $xx to spare.

18. Write letters. On grief courses I ask for comments on - or for the students to create themselves - letters to write to those grieving.

19. I teamed up with an International cartoonist who drew a series of cartoons with an empty speech bubble. The context was Management. Students then had to discuss what might be in the speech bubble.

20. Hotspot. On Econ/Business courses I'd put a daily news article about something happening in the economy and students had to comment THAT DAY. If no comments then the article was deleted.

21. Before AI etc I used to put up unusual vocabulary for the course and students had to suggest what the word meant.

22. Games. I put up a series of games people can play whilst at work and asked for comments.

23. Poetry. I'd put up poetry about a particular topic, written in a particular style. Students had to suggest the style and write one of their own.

24. I'd go to a student's website, have a look round and if feasible and relevant, set homework based on that website without telling students which website it was. The website owner would realise what I'd done and would take questions/comments about the website.

25. In art therapy, take artwork from Instagram posts of a student and ask for interpretations. (Having checked with the student first!)

26. I have appeared in 100+ short films. I'd take a short film clip and ask students what their advice would be (eg if arguing in the my with my wife).

27. Mind mapping. Take any topic on the course and film myself mind mapping it. Then post the finished version. Then ask students to do the same for other lectures.

28. There are various economics textbooks on the web - copyright free. I'd include them with the course and set homework from the book.

29. Mnemonics. Ask students to use the letters in their name and make a mnemonic detailing key aspects of the course.

30. Using copyright free photos show the photo and ask (for example) what leadership style that seems to represent or what might that person be thinking.

31. using clips from cat videos ask students to discuss their pet and how the animal reduces stress, provides happiness etc etc - and post a picture!

32. Ask students to post a picture of the view from where they are when they see this lecture. Does the view motivate them? depress them?

BUT there are dangers….

In one course I highlighted a 'certain' site offering 'international accreditation' and suggested that if accreditation was so so so so easy then maybe it was not worth much. A student made a formal complaint and said my whole course was a scam and actually I was advertising this accreditation site by showing how cheap it was and Udemy should be informed that I was scamming people to sign up. (I took the lecture down)
With thousands of posts in the Q/A it is very difficult to get people to post in threads for the right lecture. This has lead to a few poor reviews complaining about the 'chaos' and many private messages saying the same. When i try and make sure students post in the right thread this can lead to hostility, refunds and poor reviews that I am 'obsessed with threads'.
After 5 years of trying, at last my Economics course was accepted for Udemy for Business. A new student started 10 new threads ignoring all other posters and all other threads. I kept telling him not to do this. He continued. I deleted the threads. he formally complained to Udemy. Also wrote a damning review. I responded….My course - and me - were ejected from Udemy for Business - for life.
The Diploma comes with risks. Some students claim to have done all the homework and write a 5 star review. I call in independent assessors who see that NO homework has been done and the student is lying. The claim for the Diploma is rejected. The student then changes the review to 1 star and says we are all liars and its a scam, etc and as that's an opinion I cannot get the review removed.

Yes, this takes a lot of time. Some courses have several thousand posts. But - for me - it hugely increases job satisfaction (and stress about threads!) and it's great when occasionally students message me privately and say how the course has really helped them through difficulties in life and the art therapy exercises and counselling case studies were all great etc etc. Sometimes this is several years after they've finished the course. Very very occasionally a student and I will make a course together and they will be listed as co-Instructor. This is as a result of exchanges in the Q/A.

I take the view that Udemy earnings are the same as a salary and for that salary would I work 20-30-40 hours a week choosing what to do, where to film, what about, what to write etc? Yes I would so if a lot of time is spent with 'the class' (Q/A) then so be it. I'd far rather that than produce a course and I have no idea if people are really taking things in, applying what's there, like/dislike what's there etc.

ChrisBankes120

Just thought of a few more…

If a student has recently enrolled (say within 7 days) but not posted (even though they've watched something) then i message just checking if all is OK and whether they would like any help.
I produced a 20 minute YouTube video showing how to navigate the Q/A. I include a link in lecture 1. (I used to include the video but got some 1 star reviews with students complaining it was nothing about the course and apparently they were unable to skip the lecture blah blah)
In Educational Announcements I ask questions and hope for a few comments. This starts a dialogue which can then spill over to the Q/A
In the closing message that students receive when they 'finish' I ask them to return to the course some time to check and see if people have responded to their posts. This reminds them of the advantage of posting in the Q/A
I include a famous quote or meme or even a joke and ask for comments.
If someone asks a question, rather than answer I request that other students post their opinions. I remind everyone this is a 'global class' and the Q/A is for questions AND discussion and how you learn by being involved.
I put up paintings 'in the style of' and ask students which ones are fake
I put up paintings and ask students what the value is
I put up ethical dillemmas and ask students for advice (These last three ideas can go on a variety of courses)
I look at which countries most of my students are from (usually USA and India) and base a few lectures round that country eg Indian Economy or a film in America
If students are on similar courses I remind them they're welcome to share their extra knowledge with their fellow classmates. The same approach if they've read books, been to websites etc etc to share links, share books, films etc
Sometimes I create new lectures that are based round comments in the Q/A. For example, someone yesterday posted they are unsure about mind mapping so when I finish this post i will be filming myself mind mapping a topic using the letters of their name as a mnemonic for the topic. This then gets posted and I ask others to do the same.

ChrisBankes120

Last one.

:-)

If I see another Instructor - especially a competitor - has books on Amazon or youtube videos etc then I suggest students read/watch as it all adds to their learning. The Instructor with the most best sellers in Economics has many videos on Youtube - they're excellent, so I often mention those. This whole idea of sharing reminds students to see my course as merely a stepping stone and how sharing knowledge helps all. 'The best way of learning is to teach' etc - sometimes students are 'appointed' to help newcomers to the Q/A too…

FettahBen

Udemy says that more interaction in the discussion will push the course toward more enrollments, but in reality, there’s no real effect.
Imagine you need to solve an IT problem for a student’s real environment, and you only earn $1.50 from that student.
Or imagine a student asking you to re-explain an option that is already covered in the course, even though they haven’t watched more than 5% of it.

Boris035

Dear @MarinaT - if we wanted a regular interaction with students, we wouldn't create digital courses, but rather teach in person.

ChrisBankes120

@Boris035Some of us do both.

@FettahBen Udemy says that more interaction in the discussion will push the course toward more enrollments, but in reality, there’s no real effect

A student reads a case study and posts in response to a Discussion Question. Another students responds. Then another. Then another. Meanwhile they are watching more lectures so get prompted for a review. More likely to leave a review as they are enjoying the discussion. More reviews. More watched. More enrolments.

A student is posting about recent economic policy decisions in their own country. Someone else, same country, also posts with links to a Youtube video. Other students follow and then extend the discussion. More of the lectures are watched. More lectures; students get prompted.

A student posts their art therapy exercise response. Several people analyse and comment on the artwork. An email from udemy arrives advertising a number of courses. One such course is by the same Instructor. The student likes sharing artwork and enrols to study a second course which - although still art therapy - is looking at different areas.

A student bounces book ideas off the other students in the Q/A. This results in the student writing and publishing the book. In the book the student links to the course.

A student has a website. The discussion in the Q/A links to the website. On the website the student has a blog and mentions that s/he is studying various courses on Udemy…

A student enrols in a course with 5,000+ discussions. The student also enrols in another course with a different Instructor. The Q/A is empty. The student is bored and so stops that second course. Nevertheless s./he still wants a shorter course. So the student looks for courses by the same Instructor as it's likely there will be discussions.

In the Course Description on Counselling it is stressed that one of the best ways to learn about counselling is through case studies and discussions. The student who reads the course description likes the idea of discussions and so enrols.

in the Q/A discussion is about one particular lecture. The links are now outdated and no longer work. So someone tells the Instructor who is participating in the thread. The lecture is updated, thus the course is updated which makes it more attractive. The Instructor did not know about the broken link.

For a student the Q/A has become central to the course. In the course of discussions he realises there is a Bonus Lecture which he had not noticed. This Bonus lecture advertises other courses……..

As part of the discussion thread, students discuss ways to improve the course and also what other courses to make. This leads to an improved course and another course…..

The discussions are many and some students feel they 'get to know' the Instructor a bit better. They then realise s/he has other courses…

FettahBen

It’s easy when you read it, but very hard to actually do it and capture it in reality.

ChrisBankes120

A lot depends on the course content, courses that the Instructor has, style of course(s) etc etc also - who's to know why a student enrols on another course? BUT if a student is very engaged with Course A by Instructor B then IF, IF, IF the student wishes to do a course in the same subject area s/he is more likely to take a course by that same Instructor because of the feeling of involvement in the Q/A.

Col (Dr) Shabbar Shahid (Veteran)

@MarinaT I encourage students within the lessons and even while responding to their queries. (like…Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in your learning)

When a student asks some intelligent question, I really feel very happy and respond to them at length, At times I have to research my self and it enhances my own knowledge. Honestly, very few people ask intelligent questions. Most are mundane and outside the scope of the course but still I make it a point to answer every question. The fact that a student asks a question is a proof that he/she is interested in the course and is engaging. That feeling itself is very satisfying.