Patti Shank has been encouraging all of us to “Get Real. Pump Up Your Online Courses” in Online Classroom for some time now. However, it was her recent Part 6 of this series in the April 2009 issue that really got me thinking and excited. The focus of Dr. Shank’s most recent suggestions was to add a real-life element to online courses. In a sense, she is encouraging us as online instructors to go the extra mile in getting our students involved in the acquisition of knowledge. Of the four steps that Dr. Shank offered in April, I have found great success with number two, titled “Real People.”