well as in choice. In order for thi

well as in choice. In order for this design to work, we standardized the schedule across all six sections so class time and instructors could be shared across sections.
The mean and standard deviation of the connectedness score and perception of SOC importance for Iteration 1 are reported in Table 4. The student ratings mean was 6.53 out of a possible 8.
Table 4
Descriptive Statistics for Iteration 1
n
Min
Max
M
SD
Connectedness
44
15
63
39.68
11.334
SOC importance
44
0
6
3.09
1.378
Student ratings
39
0
7
6.53
1.446
Iteration 2 Findings
One intervention was added in the second iteration of the course. As instructors, we felt less connected with our students and worried students might feel the same, so we increased our usage of video recordings for assignment feedback (our assumption was that the use of video might improve perceptions of instructor social presence) along with an increased emphasis on developing a stronger relationship with each student. Specifically, each instructor followed the guidelines below when providing both video and text feedback for the three major assignments:
• Address the student by name;
• Identify things in common that you have with the student (only for the first assignment);
• Welcome the student into the class when giving feedback on the first assignment, e.g., “Glad to have you in class” (only for the first assignment);
• Offer help, “Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you”;
• Look in the webcam if you are giving video feedback;
• All feedback should be timely—within a week of the due date; and
• Send an email to the class reminding them to view their feedback.