help.53 Instructors should set up a profile, including a brief bio, professional headshot, contact information, email, best contact hours, and any other desired information before the course launch in a timeframe specified by the Office of Online Education. Apart from this faculty information displayed within the online course, the course can feel “uninhabited” when students explore the course upon gaining access.
In addition to personalizing the course with faculty information, the instructor should post a welcome announcement and display it on the landing page for the online course. The welcome announcement further conveys an active faculty presence within the course. It is an initial point of connection with students and provides them with guidance on the next steps to take upon gaining access to the course.
53 https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/online-course-delivery-andinstruction/instructor-bio-humanize-course-reduce-student-anxiety/
This communication should focus on essential course- and content-specific items rather than student policy and logistical information. For example, the welcome announcement might introduce the following:
A few details about the instructor.
Comments about the relevance of the subject matter.
The location of course documents, such as the syllabus and course schedule.
Actions the students must take to establish a presence in the course through academic engagement.
Guidance on the best ways to contact the instructor for various reasons.
The welcome announcement should be posted before students gain access to the course; a good target would be five (5) days before the start of the course (which typically falls on a Thursday). However, after students gain access, the welcome announcement should be sent by email to the student as well (this might require the instructor to select an option to email the announcement once the course goes live; the announcement should not be sent as an email prior to students gaining access to the course). This proactive, multi-channel communication from the course instructor will prompt students to engage with the syllabus immediately.
Textbooks are integrated into online courses as electronic resources. There may be instances where instructors are required to set up their textbook in the course so that students can utilize courseware. There may also be instances where resources require separate login credentials or verification codes from students. The instructor should include guidance about the form of the textbooks and the way students access those resources. If a printed textbook is required, instructors should include guidance on how students should obtain the printed textbooks as soon as possible so as not to delay progress in the course.
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