(Important Standard -- 1 point)
Student introductions help create a supportive learning environment and sense of community. Explain to the students where and how you want the introductions to be done. Often introductions are done on the discussion board and generally are not evaluated.
Note: student introductions may not be appropriate for every course--for example, cohorts. That being the case, instructors are still encouraged to have students introduce their backgrounds in the course's content area. If this is ultimately not appropriate, the points for this standard should still be awarded with notes provide as to why it was student introductions are not appropriate for the course.
Along the same lines as the previous standard, an effective way to have students introduce themselves—and to engage them in student-to-student interaction—is to ask them to introduce themselves to each other in the discussion boards.