Creating Community Through Student-to-Student Zoom Interacts

Beth-Ann Dumas, Communication Studies Instructor, Cuesta College | We all crave connection. Learn how to build a strong course community through student to student connection assignments I call Interacts. Students engage with each other synchronously face-to-face at their tablets, computers, or phones via their free Zoom account The Interacts bring an online course to life by providing students the opportunity to engage with the material and each other in a unique way that’s different from most online courses. Anonymous student feedback: The interacts help create a connection with other students that are difficult to attain through most online classes/ I really felt a sense of community, online classes normally aren’t this interactive so it definitely made it fun to meet people and connect over technology/ Other online courses I’ve taken were absolutely nothing like this one, and I wish more online courses had face to face interactions with classmates. I feel closer to my classmates by actually speaking to them rather than using the discussion boards./ I feel a very close sense of community in this class, so much so that I don’t want the semester to end. I made friends in this class due to the interacts.