Helping Acclimate Students to Expectations and My Teaching Style
To help my online (synchronous virtual classroom) students get acclimated to the class flow and my expectations I do two things:
1.) Before the first day of class I post a detailed announcement "ABC123 Course Information and Expectations." The posting contains my contact information; my availability; schedule for all live sessions; details on what is needed to do well in the Discussion Threads; APA formatting guidelines and hyperlinks to support information; grading scale; late policy, etc.
2.) My first live Chat Session is "How to Earn an "A" in This Class." In this one hour live session I break the above announcement into PowerPoint slides. During the live session we go through the slides, and just before the end I ask students if any of this information was familiar. I then point out everything was taken from the announcement, and remind everyone how important it is to read all announcements each week.
Kelly,
I agree with you. I also have colleagues that make students do a scavenger hunt to help acclimate their students to the course. I use video orientation. You got get students in the LMS and learning quickly as many teach five weeks.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello All,
That is great "start here". Many online teaching methods can be learn through the studying of web design and user experience design, and information architecture. We are taking the students through steps, sequences that can be ordered or reordered in non- linear method by both the author and the user.
Thank you.
Kelly
Kimberly,
So, it is information in your syllabus also? I think you are smart with these strategies.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hi Rodney,
At the beginning of each start date, the instructors are to post a “Policy and Procedure Email†which lists important information regarding the course. To name a few, it mentions my Live Chat sessions, contact information, when Assignment is due, extension and late policy, and plagiarism. I then post additional announcements explaining my expectations, such as: how to respond to a discussion question (what is acceptable), how to submit Assignments (on a word Document), helpful studying tips, and test taking strategies. I find that the student appreciate this information because some did not do well in school or have been out of school for a long time and forgot the basics.
Rodney,
Thank you for sharing great tips. I also have the first button and the first announcement in my LMS that says "Start Here". In there is a video of the technology and me using it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
