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Making the Most of Your First Few Weeks

Posted: September 13, 2016 | Last Modified: January 25, 2024

It’s that time of year again! Eager students are figuring out who you are and what they’re going to learn in your course. You’re reading and meaningfully responding their introduction discussion posts. You’re utilizing various methods to communicate your expectations of them. Your online course has just started.

Here are a few tips to help you make the most of the first few weeks of your online course:

  • Tips for Using Announcements to Connect with Students
    In this guest post by Dr. Fred Kolb, he describes how he uses announcements to build his instructor presence in the course. He provides several concrete examples that you can even use in your online class!
  • The Art & Science of Quality Course Announcements: How to Avoid the Trap of the Info Dump
    This Faculty Focus article provides suggestions for creating news posts that are informative and engaging for students. Some of the tips include:

    • Focus on one main idea in each announcement
    • Use bullet points
    • Create instructional videos and embed them into your announcement
    • Encourage students
  • Three Tips to Make the Most of Introduction Activities
    This blog post shares some ideas for jazzing up your introduction discussions to make them fun opportunities for everyone to get to know each other.
  • How to Foster Critical Thinking, Student Engagement in Online Discussions
    This Faculty Focus article shares best practices for constructing higher-level discussion questions, tips for communicating expectations, and suggestions for jump-starting a dull discussion.

Filed Under: Online Teaching, Standards Tagged With: Announcements, Discussion, Instructor, Instructor Presence, Social Presence

About This Blog

Through the partnerships we form with our instructors, we develop engaging and interactive online courses. Here you’ll find ideas on course design informed by the latest research and teaching strategies that build community and instructor presence. We’ll also we share our experiences with technology, with Canvas, and with administering our online educational programs.

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