Online Activities Before Your Course Begins

Before your course begins is the perfect time to obtain information about your learners' backgrounds and interests and share information about yourself. Use an Individual Data Sheet or a Biographical Sharing Form. This provides an opportunity for you to connect and start creating a sense of presence with course participants. Another excellent way to orient students before your course begins is to involve them in a Course Scavenger Hunt. This activity can welcome them to the course, help them get to know each other, guide them through the specifics of the course, introduce them to netiquette, help them become familiar with the different locations on the course site, introduce them to team and group work, and begin course readings. Orientation activities not only start before the course begins, but often last through the first week.

 

Reference

Lehman, R. M., & Conceição, S. C. (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners. Jossey-Bass.