The instructor’s presence, or instructor immediacy, refers to how psychologically connected students feel to their instructors, and it’s correlated with a number of beneficial outcomes such as enhanced learning (Chesebro & McCroskey, 2001), motivation (Baker, 2010) and student attendance and participation (Rocca, 2004). Below we outline a number of suggestions that can enhance presence and immediacy in your course.

• Remain visible. Log into Canvas to review student work, note themes in their understanding and areas in need of revision, maintain a presence in the discussion board, and use announcements to communicate important information and ideas.
• Humanize with video, audio, and images. Starting your course with a personal video introduction or sharing some photos can help students connect with you.
• Be responsive. Let students know how long after they email you they can expect to get a response. If you have students ask questions through discussion boards, set aside time to monitor them and provide responses.
• Office Hours/1:1 meetings. Post “office hours” in the orientation module or via an announcement so students may request an appointment. You could also host live help/Q&A sessions using Zoom for the whole class. Online office hours can help connect students with each other and with you, especially when planned in advance.