Developing Non-Technical Skills
In your online course, how do you help students become good online citizens?
In my online courses I help my student become good online citizens by providing guidelines for appropriate communication; defining what is appropriate and explaining the importance of professionalism in communication.
In the first class students in my program take is- LCBC101 College Success for Online Programs. In these class students we have an entire week lesson on respecting others in online classroom. In the book student are provided there are two chapters that deal with being a good online citizen. Also before entering any class students must indicate that they have read the Terms and Conditions of the class, which include respect for other classmates.
David,
I love institutions that have courses to help students succeed online. They learn the basics of the technology, start to become an online community and learn the respect aspect. Nice job.
Marilu,
Thanks for your input. Guidelines and examples are so imporant - especially to those students who have not taken online courses before. Nice job - keep it up1
Our students participate in Discussion Forums and chat sessions as well as communicating with each other in the on-line student lounge. We discuss during an initial one-on-one orientation what it means to be a good online citizen. Our student support specialists discuss with them that online communication can be misinterpreted if we are not careful to ensure a positive and professional tone. We discuss that discussion forum responses should always be clear and constructive and stay on topic. In addition we talk to the students about always assuming positive intent from other responses they may receive and encourage them to politely ask for clarification if necessary. In essence, the “golden rule†can be applied online, in that communication should go out to others in the same way you would like it to come to you.
Giving clear guidelines for expectations and consequences for both good and bad behaviour, and then following up on both promptly and fairly, is the start of developing online citizenry.
Something I hadn't thought of before that this week brought up was giving students specific help with recognizing good resources from bad while researching online. My courses are project-based (digital arts) rather than written, but this kind of information is still quite useful and I'll be implementing it!
Nicole,
Who doesn't like a godd "golden rule?" ;-) Ensuring students are engage in the learning is important and as you noted, they should be engaged as a good online citizen. As an online instructor, you too can serve a role model for such behavior. Keep up the good work. Thanks for your input.
Gayle,
You are right. Providing examples and serving as a good role model in your communication, use of technology, etc. are essential. We can all be good citizens and help learn from each other through project-based learning. Thanks for your input.
I currently teach a Strategies for Success course online and the first part of the first assignment is about plagiarizing and the consequences of doing so. The second part of the assignment is about netiquette. The entire course provides strategies to help students become successful college students.
I am expected to give clear directions at the beginning of the class. To do this, several announcements are posted prior to the start of class to be available for students the first day that the course starts. Periodically, I remind students of the announcements and expectations.
This has helped students tremendously to become good online citizens not only because of all the expectations but most importantly because the expectations are clear and consistent.
Edna,
I love institutions that incorporate courses to help studnets be successful in the online environment. What is stressed in these courses really helps students understand the expectations of online courses and how they can keep up with those expectations. Keep up the good work.
There are a few ways to aid the students in becoming a good online citizen. The first way is to teach them the importance of giving credit to whom it is due. I always tell my students if you doubt or are unsure cite the source. I do think students can plagiarize and not know it. This is one way I aid them in not plagiarizing. Another way is teaching them how to be good online citizens is by teaching them the importance of copyright issues. I always tell them not to use music videos from U-tube due to this issue. The last thing I teach students on becoming a good online citizen is to treat their peers with respect. I tell them to use something like the “Golden Ruleâ€. Find out how you peers want to be treated and treat them that way.
Hello Edna,
I teach this same course at CTU. I do think it is important to teach them about netiquette. Students do need to know how to treat their peers with respect.
I think you do a great job by providing your students with announcements and expectations. This way they know what is expected of them. There are no surprises.
Joan
Online instructors can help their students become good online citizens by including information on the syllabus on good online citizenship.
Good online citizenship includes an understanding of plagiarism. An honesty policy is also an important aspect of good online citizenship. The honesty policy can include information on plagiarism, cheating, and ethics.
Joan,
I like that idea of helping students learn how to give credit when credit is due. There are software packages such as SafeAssign that catches plagiarized information. I use this as a teaching tool to show students where they have plaziarized and then we work on referencing properly and wording text properly. The "Golden Rule" is the best. We need to us it more in life. ;-)
Joan & Edna,
Thanks for continuing the process. Glad you have similar courses to compare. We learn so much from each other. Thanks!
Laura,
Yes, policies about honesty, plagiarism, good citizenship, etc. are essential. Perfect.
For two of my schools, which are both online and/or hybrid, many of the requirements for being good online citizens are spelled out in the handbook and syllabus, but I also include reminders in my Welcome announcement and email. I provide good sources and discussions of reliable sources and files on analyzing websites, discussions of what constitutes plagiarism, and if need be, reminders in chats or grading boxes about following rules of politeness when students forget to do so. Most online students seem to follow these rules, but when I have the occasional student who overtly plagiarizes or is rude, I do have to confront the student with an explanation of what should have been done based upon posted protocol.
June,
The better the students understand the expectations and the more you also model being a good online citizen and good communicator, the better. Keep up the good work.
Joan, I also teach at CTUOnline. I have not taught this class yet, but it sounds interesting. I usually teach English and literature but still spend an inordinate amount of time on the issues you and Edna talk about.
