In what ways can an instructor interact with the students in his/her class?
There are several collaboration tools available to enable an instructor to interact with the students in a given course. The chat tool, for instance, allows for real-time interaction among any number of individuals. The instructor could use this function in order to conduct online office hours. In addition, the discussion area allows the instructor to engage with students in threaded discussions. The instructor could use this tool in order to answer questions and post information, knowing that all students in the course will be able to check this message board at any time.