Reaching out to students via announcements and reminders of upcoming activities and deadlines, should be regular, consistent and frequent. Good instructor/student communication will prevent pesky emails from frustrated students to course coordinators, chairpersons and deans.
Isolation, lack of in-person meetings, busy work schedules make it easy to lose track of time, thus, setting a routine, such as, for example, posting/sending an announcement each Monday, is a good way to keep all students on track. It also allows students and instructors to settle in a regular pace which is conducive to good organization and anticipation. Consistency with the timing of announcements and reminders, will have students expecting them and, eventually, ready to complete work and assignments.
It is good practice to send a welcome/orientation email or video before the first class. This first message will usually provide information on the course, the instructor and the class site and get students started. The tone for the course will be set by this first contact and it is important to model the type of behavior expected from students. Some basic tasks can be requested before the first class: checking for access to the different platforms needed, using the Blackboard browser-checker, first reading assignment, introduction on the Discussion board, etc…
Links
- Good practices when communicating with online students: Humanizing Online Teaching and Learning by Whitney Kilgore; The Essentials of Online teacher Student Communication by Jackson Best.
- More about Instructor Presence here
- Welcome Message good practices here
- Examples of Welcome Messages here
- More about Videos here