Techniques for beginning an online course

In this section tips and suggestions for beginning an online course are presented.

Harasim et al (1995) suggest that, "Each participant should be sent a personal message welcoming them to the online classroom and congratulating them on having successfully signed online. The first message should invite a response, thereby encouraging interaction and providing a way for the teacher to monitor who has successfully accessed the system." (p. 176) "The second comment in a new conference might specify the activity for that week and include a simple request such as, 'Respond to this comment by introducing yourself and telling us what your hopes and expectations are for this course.' The third comment may recap some important ideas from assigned reading or videotapes and ask for a response to a substantive question." (p. 176)

While prescriptive in nature, these techniques are designed to set the tone at the outset of an online course. The facilitator must make an effort to portray himself or herself as a real person and to establish a comfort zone in which students are free, but also expected, to participate. "From the outset, students should be encouraged to respond to each other as well as to the comments and questions contributed by the instructor." (p. 176) "By the end of the first week, all students should understand that they share the responsibility of responding to comments. The instructor can motivate active participation by recognizing the efforts by students to learn the system and to participate regularly, actively, and thoughtfully." (p. 177)

Essentially, the beginning of an online course is a period of community building. If this is done successfully, the rest of the course is likely to run smoothly. Some ways in which to build an online community are:

• share autobiographies online.
• everyone contributes their favorite joke.
• initiate a group building product. For example, the first person writes one line of a limerick. A second person in the group has to provide the next line. And so on until the product is finished.
• visit each others home pages, for groups that are this advanced.