Online Class
Communication Tips
Instructors should attempt to contact students to notify them of class
startup.
- Inform students on how to access online course
and materials.
- For services that are available, student support/advising services should be contacted
for help with student/class startup issues.
- Make certain students know about any proctored exams and on-site
visitation requirements at course startup.
- At
class startup, notify students that when e-mail is sent to the entire
class using Blackboard, some of
the Internet Service Providers (ISP) or mail providers, including AOL, will consider the message as
"bulk e-mail" and put it in a special junk mail folder.
Many students do not realize there is a second place, in addition to their
inbox, for mail and will not get messages sent to the whole class unless
they modify their e-mail accounts. Be alert to this problem and help
students recognize and correct it to receive Blackboard generated e-mail
from you and their classmates.
Instructors should maintain good communication throughout the
semester.
- Electronic communication is often sterile. Instructors should personalize
their interaction with students where feasible, for
example, using using the student's name for any individual communication.
- Point out strengths of any assignments, tests, or communications under
discussion before making suggestions for improvement.
- Use emoticons [ ;>) ] and cyber jargon [ LOL, IMHO ] sparingly,
but when appropriate to convey more personal message.
- Be patient when repeating information. Cyberspace has many dead
letter possibilities and communications are not always clear.
Assume all requests for help or information are the result of the student's
genuine desire to be successful and respond accordingly.
- Instructors should teach the
students to use class communication tools for general class business. For
example,
- Create a forum for class operations questions that allows anonymous
postings.
- When received via e-mail, post a student's general question (using an anonymous posting)
to the discussion board and
answer it there, but send a personal e-mail message to the student
telling him or her where to look for the posted answer.
- Create a forum or discussion thread to discuss each assignment
and post general questions about assignments or projects in the appropriate
forum along with the answer.
- Students often take courses online because their life circumstances are overwhelmingly complicated.
Instructors should, no matter how trying a student
may be, to be encouraging and supportive in all communications with
the student.
- Instructors should offer alternatives for situations causing stress or difficulty for
the student whenever possible without compromising the academic integrity of
the course and without relieving a student of accountability for his or her own learning. If possible, have arrangements available for a
student to join a traditional class if the student discovers that online learning is not appropriate for him or her.
Instructors should use the discussion boards to maintain student interest in
the course and provide an opportunity to learn from each other.
Examples of good discussion starters:
- Have you observed objective X in your personal or work life.
Post a summary of your observation and explain how it is an application
(illustration) of objective X. If you have not, either respond to
the observation of one of your classmates in a way that demonstrates your
understanding of objective X or select the most important objective of
this unit and explain why it is important and how you think knowing it
may impact your personal or work life in the future.
- Report on something you read, or saw on television this week that
directly relates to this learning objective. Respond to at least
one posting made by a classmate.
- List a web site that illustrates or expands on objective X.
Explain why this web site is
- a reliable source of information
- directly related to objective X
- In addition to your own posting, respond to at least two postings by
classmates.
Use of small groups can also establish learning connections between the
students.
- Form working relations and possibly friendships with other members of
the class
- People with working relationships are more likely to give good
consideration to the ideas of others
- Working with others is an important part of the preparation of our
students for "real world" experiences.
- Have a larger stake in being successful in the course than just their
own needs.
- Positive peer pressure to succeed for the sake of the group will
help some students make it through the tough times that will occur
during the course
- Group projects can be more realistic in scope and thus be more
interesting and provide more motivation for study and completion
than projects done only by the individual student.
- Group members provide each other with academic support as well as
project related support, thus increasing the student's support
system to be successful, as well as relieving the instructor of some
of the burden of supporting the individual student.
- If group work is not possible in your course, establish learning partners— pairs or triplets of students who have as part of their course
tasks providing feedback to each other on the projects and assignments of
the course. This will provide much of the same support as group work
with the exception of more realistic projects and applications.
[Return to online
course standards ]
Kellogg
Community College