Incorporating Networking into Online Courses: A Roundtable Discussion

Keywords: networking, online learning, virtual teaching

Abstract: Networking is an essential skill for business students’ job search and career success. For campus-based students, networking with peers occurs naturally in their day-to-day lives; however, online students may be limited in their peer networking opportunities due to the online modality and the asynchronous nature of most online courses. In this roundtable, we draw attention to this issue by discussing our experiences with incorporating networking into our online courses, share our lessons learned, and offer tips for how participants can build networking into their online courses. Via discussion questions, participants will reflect on the need to incorporate networking into online courses, explore and share ways that they can and have utilized networking in their online courses, and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a networking component in an online course.