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Educator's Voice

Volume 5, Issue 9
September 15, 2004

On Your Mark, Get Set

Who was your first girlfriend/boyfriend? Who was the first man on the moon? Do you remember your first car? What was your first job?

Firsts are important to most people. Most of us are sentimental enough to remember a list of our significant firsts. In academic terms, it's called primacy. People tend to remember the first part of a conversation, the first part of an event, or the first part of a class quite readily. And, as this is of seeming importance to most of us, perhaps it's time to revisit how to create a strong first impression upon your students.

The beginning of the term, semester, quarter, or year is probably here for many of you, ready or not! And whether or not your course runs four weeks, 10 weeks, or 16 weeks, there are some strong starting moves you might want to consider.

What are your initial goals for an effective online course? How about creating a strong learning community? Perhaps establishing course norms and routines? I'm sure you want to get students involved and interacting with the material and each other, right? Well, there are some practical strategies that you can employ to accomplish these tasks. Consider the following:

Personalize your welcomes: I've written in the past about the concept of instructor immediacy and here is where the rubber meets the road. Consider placing a first-person welcome and first-person biographical information for your students in several different places. You will want this information on the:

Course Homepage -- A personal welcome from you, the instructor, can allay student fears of being evaluated by a system, computer or machine. Let them start to find connections with you from the onset, which you will be able to incorporate as examples and illustrations later!

Welcome Announcement -- Set a welcome announcement to run for the first 3-4 days of class that does nothing other than tell your students how happy you are to be teaching them. This goodwill can go a long way in creating teachable students.

The Syllabus -- Be sure to create more than the typical credentials section at the top of your syllabus. Be sure to include a personal section with hobbies, interests or personal goals (especially scholarly interests). As well, do not hesitate to include your picture here (if you haven't already done so on the Course Homepage). Let your students know that you are a real person who is a lifelong learner. This will help you model appropriate course communication and start to form bridges from life to theory that can be used in e-mails, discussions and chats throughout the course.

Create important announcements: There are some important announcements to consider posting during the first week of your course. Remember to set your announcement end dates. If you haven't tried them before, consider posting these:

STOP & READ THIS! I recommend using this exact title (or something just as attention-grabbing) in your announcement subject heading. This announcement needs to detail how your students should have already gone through their Student Orientation Tutorial. It should also state that if they have not gone through this vital course, they should exit your class, go through it, and then return.

Technical Help. Students do not want to feel alone or helpless as this often leads to leaving the online learning world forever! So, give them the tools they need and the resources available for help! Explain the HELP button located in the upper right corner of every eCollege page. Explain the 24x7 technical help desk and give them the specific phone number for your institution. Show them that they are not alone!

A Welcome E-mail. Send out an e-mail to your students welcoming them once again. Then, place an announcement stating that you've sent this out. Explain to students that if they did not receive the e-mail to contact you immediately. This can eliminate the communication hassles of an e-mail address not being registered with that student down the road.

Course Collaboration. I learned during my first online teaching experience that when a student finds a dead link or a file that has expired, they take great joy in informing me that my course is "wrong" or "broken." So, I like to ask my students to help me keep the course current right from the beginning. Setting up an air of collaboration eliminates their need to "police" me and helps establish a sense of community all around.

Create some special Content Items: There are some Content Items that can make your job a LOT easier, as well as help to achieve the primary goals you have for your course. Consider some of the following:

Create a Student Lounge. This is sometimes called the Student Union, Cyber Café, or Class Lounge (use your imagination!). This is the perfect place for your students to introduce themselves. It is also a great place for students to go to discuss non-course related items to their heart's content. I make sure to tell my students that this page will be monitored, but it is a threaded discussion just for them to "hang out" as they would in my live class.

Creative Tip: Instead of having students upload their pictures, which can be problematic for some students, have them go to www.magixl.com and create their caricature! Use the Caricature Generator and then place the finished image in the course -- the instructor can even take all of the images and create a "class roster" for everyone to see!

Create a Virtual Office. This HUGE time saver is a great way to eliminate e-mails, answer questions for all students rather than one at a time, and can establish communication norms and expectations. This threaded discussion area should tell students to ask all course-related questions here. As well, the instructor should explain when questions will be answered, eliminating the 2:30 a.m. e-mails from students asking where the professor is! Finally, this allows all students to see the questions AND answers so that they do not need to ask it themselves.

Create a FAQ page. If you've taught this course before and especially if you've used a Virtual Office before, transfer the commonly asked questions to an "FAQ" page. Direct students here immediately and save yourself some typing!

Set your Syllabus up effectively: Remember that more specific information is good for the online learner. Explain how the grading system works in more detail than 90-100 = A. Show them a picture of the textbook. Explain your plagiarism policy. Place information here about course due dates and assignment descriptions. Remember that your students cannot simply raise their hand at 4 a.m. and get a response to a question. Eliminating the need for the question at all is an effective online instructor's goal.

Finally, set up your course Calendar: While asynchronous learning is often the reason students take an online class, this does not mean that your course will have no congruency or flow. Create a timeline for every unit, module, etc. Typically, each unit runs for one week. (To set these dates in the Course Calendar, go to Author mode and click on the Course Scheduler.) Explain to students that after the week is up, they will no longer be able to write to threads, upload assignments, or take quizzes. This allows them the freedom to take class at times when it is convenient for them while still establishing flow and effective course communication by which you will facilitate and teach!

So, as the old saying goes, you can't make a second first impression! Set yourself up for success early and you will have a much smoother, more productive, effective class than if you try to create on the fly. Utilize some of these best practice ideas to make your life easier and to allow yourself more time to facilitate, instruct and teach, which is probably why you signed up for this in the first place! Good luck and good teaching!

-- Jeff D. Borden, M.A.

TIP

Developing a Frequently Asked Questions Section

You can help ensure student success in your course, and reduce e-mails or posts to your online office, if you place Frequently Asked Questions/Answers as a Content Item page under Course Home in your course. Here are a few examples of the type of items to place on a FAQs page. Of course, as you gain experience in the online environment, you will soon develop your own list of FAQs and responses tailored to your course and instructional style.

As a new student, how will I know what to do?