Where Do Students Start? Start Here!

When entering an online class for the first time, students might feel overwhelmed by all of the content.  A warm welcome announcement and email will help put anxious students' minds at ease. In this welcome message, introduce yourself and share with your students why you are teaching this course and what you see your role as being in helping them succeed.  Best practices suggest that this welcome message include a video so that students can see your face and connect with you on a personal, human level right from the start. You'll also want to let them know where to go to get started and what tasks they need to complete during the first week of class. 

1.  A Start Here module is commonly included in most well-designed online courses. Experienced online learners know to navigate there first to find pertinent information about your course, such as a syllabus that offers a clear course description with course-level objectives. You'll also want to include course and institutional policies. The policies regarding class participation, methods for submitting work, and class etiquette (sometimes referred to as netiquette in online classes) should be clearly and explicitly stated on your syllabus. In online courses, it is also important to include information about the technological requirements for the course, available technology support, and privacy policies for all of the technologies used in the course, including any third party tools or platforms (Adapted from "Standards from the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, 6th Edition").

2.  A  course schedule that details readings and assessment due dates is commonly included in most syllabi. For online courses, think of this course schedule as a comprehensive learning plan that allows students to see at a glance what is expected of them during any given time in the semester. This learning plan should be posted separately so that students can access it easily; you might also consider designing it so that it is printer-friendly. Encouraging students to record due dates on paper calendars is a proven strategy for helping them stay on track (Darby & Lang, 2019).  

3. Include your contact information along with your preferred method of communication (some instructors prefer to use CourseDen's internal email tool, while others prefer that students contact them via email). You'll also want to provide a phone number and offer guidance on when you will be available by phone for virtual office hours. Consider setting up a video conferencing room with Zoom or Google Meet. Encourage students to drop into the room for virtual office hours.   

4. After designing your Start Here module, compose a welcome message that directs your students to review the information posted in the Start Here Module. You might also include an introductions discussion board where students can meet each other, a syllabus quiz, and/or a course scavenger hunt as learning activities in this module. Darby & Lang recommend "creating an online activity in the first week that requires students to familiarize themselves with the final assessment."