Fostering Effective Student Communication in Online Graduate Courses

Dr. Abigail G. Scheg is a Course Mentor for General Education Composition at Western Governors University. She researches and publishes in the areas of online pedagogy, social media, first-year composition, and popular culture. She is the author or editor of multiple texts including Applied Pedagogies: Strategies for Online Writing Instruction, Reforming Teacher Education for Online Pedagogy Development, Implementation and Critical Assessment of the Flipped Classroom Experience, Critical Examinations of Distance Education Transformation Across Disciplines , and Bullying in Popular Culture . Melanie Shaw has spent the past decade teaching and serving as an administrator in online higher education settings. She is the Assistant Dean, Dissertation Faculty in the School of Education at Northcentral University. She also serves as an adjunct faculty at several institutions and facilitates webinars for the Online Learning Consortium. In addition to her teaching roles, she trains faculty to develop and deliver courses online, conducts research on topics related to nontraditional education, and is involved in strategic leadership relative to the vision for online education. Melanie received a Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Curriculum and Teaching from Northcentral University, a master’s degree in Education Administration from Grand Canyon University, and a second master’s degree in School Counseling for the University of West Alabama. She received her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and Music from Excelsior College. She holds teaching certificates in online teaching, elementary education, and guidance counseling.