Getting Started with Online Learning

The first week of the course is generally an orientation.

It’s going to involve understanding the professor’s expectation and the general structure of the course.

This sets the foundation for your success in this online course.

During the first week of the semester, I like to have it very centralized and focused on the syllabus and students understanding the course expectations, what’s going to be happening

throughout the semester, and basically just having an overall understanding of how the class is going to function.

Now, with that, I also like to offer what I call a getting started quiz, which is basically a syllabus quiz and that helps to fulfill the academic activity requirement which is required by the university.

During the first week of the semester, I like to have students participate in an introduce yourself discussion where they can post a little bit about themselves, their major, and this is meant to help them connect with their fellow students that they wouldn’t otherwise see in person as this is an online course.

So, the first week of the course is really very much like any other course but we’re going to do it virtually.
We’re going to try to have a meeting and meet each other, talk about why we’re taking the class and what it’s about and I would give them the same thing they would get in a ground class as far as going over the syllabus and how to manage the course and what to do.

A lot of students expect this to be a very simple way to get a course and it’s really easy but it’s really no easier.

You’ve got to make sure you have your schedule ready, you’ve got to have the time blocked out, just like it was a regular class.

During the first week of my course, in fact, on the first day of my course, my students can expect to have things to do.

It’s not a slow start.

I like to get students involved right away.

First, I want them to have some idea of what the material is that we are going to be studying right away so they know what they are getting themselves into.

And, I also like them to have an opportunity to try out all of the different technological things that they’ll have to do during the
semester.