1. Be proactive. If you see a student struggling or if you notice a student is not participating as they should, reach out to them and schedule a meeting.

2. Provide "by appointment" online office hours. Be flexible in the times you are willing to meet.

3. Provide additional "walk-in" office hours at the start of the term and around mid-terms and finals.

4. Use Blackboard Collaborate for virtual office hours. When a student enters your virtual office, start a break-out room for you and the student to meet in. This way, if another student enters the virtual office, they won't be walking into a private conversation.

5. Use Google Voice to meet with students by phone, if Collaborate is proving difficult to use, Google Voice lets you call a student without providing your personal phone number.