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Teaching Excellence Handbook

First Week Activities

Teaching Online

Here are a few best practices for the beginning week of the online course:

  • Guide students to review the Start Here area of the course. It’s a good practice to create a Start Here area in your course where you can communicate important information is to students. This area can contain items such as information on the technology hardware, software, and skills needed for the course; course policies and procedures; instructor and technology support contact numbers and emails; and information on netiquette.
  • Have students review the course syllabus and explore the online course. Instructing students to review the syllabus closely at the beginning of the course can help to eliminate questions or misconceptions later. Some instructors include a syllabus quiz in their online course to ensure that students have clearly understood the most important aspects of that document, and create a scavenger hunt activity to ensure that students are familiar with the layout of the course.
  • Ask students to introduce themselves. Having students introduce themselves at the beginning of the class helps to create a sense of community and can be a great way to break the ice. Student introductions can be simple. The main thing to remember is to explain clearly to them what you want them to do. Here is an example of a basic student introduction forum:

For your introductory post, please provide the following information:

  • Tell us your name and, if you have a nickname, let us know what you like to go by.
  • Tell us what your major is or what areas of study you are interested in pursuing.
  • If you feel comfortable, tell us a little about where you are from and any hobbies that you enjoy.
  • Tell us what you hope to get out of this class and how you hope it will help you in your future college courses.

Once you have created your post, respond to at least two of your classmates. See if there are others who have the same interests as you or who have posted something that you find interesting. Let’s all talk a little as we get started!