Setting clear expectations creates a strong foundation for learning, particularly in an online setting. Because students will not run into you in the hall or have certain classroom norms already instilled, you need to be specific about how and when you will communicate with them, how students should behave during live sessions, and how you would prefer students to use the technology. This section provides recommendations for developing and communicating these suggested expectations to your students.
Decide what you want from your students in terms of their behavior during class, using the recommendations in this section as guidance.
Post a welcome message on the course wall letting them know your expectations with respect to the syllabus and class time.
Reinforce those expectations on the first day.
Be prepared to reinforce those expectations consistently during the semester.
Students often become frustrated if they do not understand what to expect in terms of communication from their faculty. Be sure to consider each of these questions and provide specific details to your students.
How should students interact with the course wall or groups?
How/when should students use email, phone, text, or other modes of communication to connect with you?
How quickly should students expect you to:
Respond to emails or voicemail?
Provide feedback on assignments?
Other important communication?
How do students attend office hours or schedule a meeting with you?
If there are any holidays or conflicts with the live session, how will the live session be rescheduled?
Let students know when you expect them to have completed the asynchronous coursework. In some cases, this timing may be dictated by school or course policy. If not, we recommend at least 24 hours prior to the live session to provide you enough time to review student asynchronous responses before the live session.
Provide students with strategies for how to prepare for class such as coming to class with at least three questions or comments about the asynchronous content.
Set an expectation that students should have their webcam turned on during the entire live session.
Let students know if and when you consider it appropriate for them to stop their webcam during class. We recommend permitting students to occasionally stop their webcam for brief periods (e.g. to sneeze off-screen).
Discuss environment expectations including attire, location, lighting, distractions, food, drink, and visitors.
Provide specific guidelines for appropriate use of the chat feature. Some faculty want students to use it as a “side channel” for academic topics, others allow students to share personal comments, and others want the chat used exclusively to communicate technical issues. You’ll want to determine your preference for chat during class and communicate that to your students.
Encourage students to mute their audio when not speaking to minimize any background noise.
Headphones should be used to assist with clearer voice and minimize noise.
Asking Questions
Determine how you would like students to indicate they have something to say:
Raise hand on webcam
Use “hand raise” emoticon in participants area
Type questions and comments in chat pod
Talk when you want to talk
Provide details about which applications you expect students to be using outside of the classroom. For example, should students be using tools like messaging and email during a live session?
If you are going to share documents, applications, or links during the live session, be sure to explain to your students where to locate them. We recommend using Collaborative Documents under Files in your course.
Please contact Tech Support with any questions via our chat feature on the Online Campus. Click the chat icon within the Online Campus and follow the prompts so that your questions can be answered by the appropriate team within 24 hours. Go here for more details.
Now that you've thought through student expectations, let's look at Starting Sessions »