Right from the start, students need to feel comfortable and safe in the space within which they will be learning and interacting with their peers. As the tutor, it is up to you to create this environment and set expectations from the outset.

Start out with an easy question or activity, something that gets students engaging and contributing without worrying too much about their answer. You might, for example, get them to introduce and share a photo of themselves. Easing students into discussions in this way helps to get them talking in the online space but about something that doesn’t yet require too much (if any) technical or subject-specific knowledge.

The aim is to build up a rapport among the cohort, which should then transfer into their more complex subject-based discussions. However, this confidence can take time to build, and students need to be shown and learn that they can voice their thoughts and opinions or ask questions without being judged or criticised.

Our students come from a range of backgrounds and often have very different experiences and ways of understanding or engaging with a particular topic. Keep conversations open and inclusive and show students the value of hearing about lived experiences, interpretations, and opinions that differ from their own.

Online communities are an ideal space for gathering information about your students differing experiences that you can then build upon and draw connections between within your teaching. For example, you might use polls to conduct student interest inventories or you might create a discussion board and ask them to share their emotions or ask questions about something prominent happening in the world or your field at the time.

In learning about students differing experiences and skills, you may find that a student has a particular interest in a relevant skills or topic. You might then invite this student to share their knowledge with the class as part of a peer-to-peer teach, or, opening the exercise out more widely, you might as each student to record a micro-lecture on a topic about which they are particularly passionate. Such activities teach students that their own knowledge and experiences are valued and relevant within their education, as well as opening students up to different ways of seeing and understanding the world. The more students are encouraged to share in this way, the greater the connection they will see between their learning and their lived experiences, the more validated they will feel as knowledgeable contributors and members of this learning community, both online and in the classroom.

As tutor, it is essential that you have a visible presence within any online learning community you build for your students. While this doesn’t mean manning a discussion board all day, every day, it does mean checking in regularly; perhaps you decide you’re going to spend 30 minutes engaging on a Tuesday and Thursday, or 15 minutes each day in the week – whatever works for your schedule. As part of this check-in you should be responding to students comments, asking questions, and adding your own thoughts to help move any conversations or activities forwards and encourage students to do the same. Students want to know that you are part of this online community and that you value their input.

Keep your online presence informal and approachable. This doesn’t mean that you have to share aspects of your life with your students if you don’t want to – you can still introduce yourself and contribute to discussions in a relaxed and friendly way. The tone and quality of the content you share in these spaces can also have a big impact. So, while you may want lecture content and related videos to be high quality and professional, any videos you share in the online community can be more informal and lower quality. Students will find this much more approachable than a really slick, professionally produced video.

Remember that students engage in different ways. Very few students are confident talking in a live session, often feeling put on the spot or worrying they’re going to say something wrong. Of course, we can work to foster inclusive teaching spaces where students shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes; however, we can also encourage these discussions to take place in an online environment where a lot of students feel more comfortable contributing as they can draft their response before posting or don’t feel so exposed when asking questions.

The online space also opens up the ways in which students can contribute, allowing them to share an image or video, or a list of resources they’ve found particularly useful. Encouraging this diversity of sharing recognises that students have different ways of learning and interacting and helps broaden each student’s pool of learning materials and understanding of a topic.

Naturally, online discussions don’t have the same flow or immediacy as an in-class discussion. It may, for example, take a student over 24 or even 48 hours to respond to a comment or question, but that doesn’t mean they’re not engaging. Counteract this vacuum by checking in more regularly for shorter spans of time. If students see you contributing regularly a couple of times a week, they’re much more likely to do the same, and your regular contributions help prevent the online discussion from stagnating if no one comments for a whole week.