Do you want to have an effective, secure-feeling and upbeat start-off for teaching your online class? Here are the most important steps for orienting your students and setting up a positive learning environment:
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Set up and use an Announcements tool. This should be titled “Announcements” and should be in plain site, such as at the top of the course menu on side bar. If Announcements are buried in a section that is not immediately visible, students will ask for instructions. This can be a time-waster both for you (the teacher), and the student. Also, you might post your contact information and availability here, as well as in your Welcome Message.
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Post a Welcome Message and your Self-Introduction in more than one section so that students do not miss it. For example, post it in the Class Café as well as in Announcements. Include precisely the information that you want your students to include in theirs. Clearly list those points in the first "Getting Acquainted" assignment, and ask learners to post theirs in the Class Café within the first 3 days of the class.
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Set up an Icebreaker activity that not only enables students to get to know each other, but also is comprehensive enough that you can learn something about the background of each student, and can see how they interact with others. The problem with having a game that only requires one-word answers is that you can not glean enough information about the learners’ background, behavior, feelings, cognitive processes or Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1978, as cited by Boettcher & Conrad, 2012).
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ost Course Expectations so that students can contemplate on, and be prepared for what will be required of them during the course. Post the Course Expectations in more than one place: In its own section, in Announcements, and in the Discussion Forum.
Note: If you expect your students to write correctly, set an example: Make sure your own contributions are above reproach. Check your grammar, spelling, capitalization and word choice before posting. An occasional typo is permissible, but don’t make a habit of it from being too hurried.
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Post Netiquette and Ethics policies, and Discussion Forum requirements in clearly visible sections, also in more than one place. This way, students cannot claim they were not aware of the guidelines.
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Set up and post a Weekly Schedule with specific due dates for discussion posts and assignments. This will be helpful both to you and your students.
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Make the first 2 weeks’ activities easy, fun and engaging so learners feel welcomed, and get a chance to familiarize themselves with you, their classmates, the course set-up, and the technology. Boettcher and Conrad say the first week is the most crucial (2012, pp. 70), but I would extend that to the first 2 weeks.
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Make sure you understand the technology tools and features of the Learning Management System (LMS), from both the teacher’s and the students’ perspectives. This is so you will be able to explain when students ask, “How do I post my DQ?” or “Where do I post my assignment?” Students will love you if you do not send them scampering to Tech Support for every little tech question.
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Mind your tone, particularly with adult learners. This is especially important in the beginning weeks, before you have gotten to know your students and their areas of expertise. For example, a learner in an Online Education course may have had 40 years’ experience in campus classroom teaching. Even such mild praise as, “Very good!” could be viewed as patronizing.
It is better to make non-qualitative “I” statements. For example, “I enjoyed your post” or “I think you made a good point”, or “I concur with your view” are all non-judgmental. If you are going to give praise, be more enthusiastic: “Wonderful!” “Fantastic!” or “Excellent” would be far better received than faint praise (but only if it is true).
Following these easy guidelines will ensure your learners stay with you beyond Week 1.
One final tip: In addition to having a sense of humor (as I mentioned in my last entry), you can't go wrong if you follow the four "P's": Be
Present,
Professional,
Polite and
Patient.
References
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
