Hello, fellow educators!

Many online classes feel isolating for both students and instructors.  As a result, we may ask learners to post introductions, but students typically don't read about or remember other student identities, and faculty don't have an easy reference to who their students are without referring back to "Introduce yourselves" discussions.  As a faculty member, I like to refer to student majors or goals to help them feel seen and apply feedback that I know will be more relevant as I grade.

My suggestion is to add an identity tagline (like <Education major, music lover, from Phoenix, AZ> or <Dog and coffee enthusiast, aspiring nurse>, next to each name to be displayed in discussion boards, grading areas, and the people area.  One solution would be that students would have a textbox to fill in the same settings area where they enter their display name and pronouns.  Then the tagline would be displayed in each relevant area.  See my screenshot for one possible visual display. 

Relevant research that inspired this idea and explores how "identity sharing" discussions don't impact student engagement or retention: 

This Simple Nudge Can Get Students More Engaged in Online Courses By Unnati Narang 

Thanks for your time and consideration, and thanks for all you do for learners.