Description One of the primary concerns of online learning reported by students is feelings of isolation (Abrami & Bures, 1996). Instructional media such as online conferencing could help students feel connected and decrease the sense of isolation (Rourke, Anderson, Garrison, & Archer, 2001). Typical Web conferencing tools allow instructors to communicate with students via text, …
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Related Tags:
Collaborative Learning,
Course Orientation,
Engagement,
Interaction,
Synchronous,
Web Conferencing
Description A welcome message to students before the course begins is an important step in establishing your online persona (Bellafiore, 2007; Gibson & Blackwell, 2005; Mensch & Ali, 2007; Phillips, 2011). The message should include vital information for the course and not be your entire syllabus. The purpose of this communication is to welcome the …
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Related Tags:
Communication,
Course Orientation,
Instructor Presence,
Interaction,
Peer-Reviewed Entry,
Social Presence
Description A scavenger hunt can be used to help orient students to an online course at the beginning of the term. This activity works like a traditional scavenger hunt, as one gives the students specific instructions as to what they are to look for in the course. By completing the activities, students navigate through the …
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Related Tags:
Activity,
Assignments,
Blog,
Content,
Course Orientation,
Journaling,
Scavenger Hunt
Description In the online environment, it is important to provide clear expectations, policies, and grading expectations and to ensure that students are familiar with these policies and expectations (California State University, Chico, 2014). You may have a very detailed syllabus. However, students may not carefully read all of these details. By creating a syllabus quiz …
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Related Tags:
Assessment,
Course Orientation,
Course Protocol,
Evaluation,
Expectations,
Module One,
Syllabus
Description A Course Orientation Module serves as the orientation to an online course. Creating an Orientation Module is very similar to the events that can occur in first night of a face-to-face class. The purpose of this module is to help students learn the course routine, expectations, and organization as well as ensure that students …
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Related Tags:
Content,
Course Organization,
Course Orientation,
Module,
Scaffolding
Post an Introduction Video to Welcome Students to Your Course