Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Connect Before the Class Begins

I'm getting ready to take an online course. It's the first online course I'll be participating in at the college where I now work, and I'm really looking forward to getting a glimpse of the experience our online students have when taking courses in our distance learning programs.

I've already gotten a taste of the experience, and I have to pat ourselves on the back for setting up a great way to engage students even before classes begin--making a strong connection to the students a couple of weeks before class starts. With most traditional courses, you show up on the first day and get the syllabus and find out what you're going to have to do to succeed in the course.

Online learners, if they're going to hit the ground running, need to be thinking and preparing even before the first day that the course is available in your course management system. Find ways to reach out and connect to them even before the semester starts.

I got an email from my instructor the other day, and here's what was included in it--all ideas for you to consider for early outreach:

  • a hearty "Welcome!"
  • information about pre-course on-campus orientation sessions
  • links to online orientation tools
  • a draft of the course syllabus (of course you like to make changes to your syllabus right up until the time the course begins--just mark your early syllabus "DRAFT")
  • deadlines for graded materials (a big help to non-traditional students who are fitting learning in with work and family and need to plan ahead)
  • a document containing tips and advice from successful online students
  • a document comparing online learning to traditional classroom learning
  • an invitation to feel free to contact the instructor with any questions or concerns, starting now--even before class begins

I've been an online learner before, and still this advance package from my instructor helps me feel at ease about the course. I imagine that for those new to online learning this kind of contact has been critical to their getting acclimated.

I'm even getting excited about the course--and wouldn't it be great if all your students showed up to class eager to learn? Make contact with them early and you might just inspire some of that eagerness.

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