Posting a warm and friendly welcome message can greatly change many negative and apprehensive attitudes of the students in your class. Most students are going to be intimidated and anxious if the course is an analytical course such as calculus or statistics. You can post a message such as this “This statistic course is an exhilarating and thought provoking course that will be useful to you throughout your academic and professional career. I am looking forward to 12 weeks of lively discussions. I also know a few of you may find the material a bit overwhelming. Do not let it get you down. If you do the work and let me know when you are having problems, I will work with you and find ways to solve the problem. As part of your individual paper and discussion board postings, I want every student to bring examples of their experiences that they have into their work. I am not looking for only academic answers; I will also be looking for integration of relevant articles reviews and web sites references which are focused on the learning modules". I will actively participate in the discussion forum and will provide summaries or comments whenever I believe they will be helpful. Again, welcome to our class!!! THOUGHTS?