What do I write in my Week 1 Forum wrap up?
Well, you have finished your first week of class. You just spent time answering every student and meeting the student in your class. By now, you have your spreadsheet of all student interests and you are looking forward to this new semester. It is now Sunday of your first week and you are asking yourself what to post next. Well, now that you are at the end of your first week, you post your Week 1 wrap ups. At the end of each week, you post a Weekly Wrap up to the forums to summarize what you did that week. I will discuss different and fun Weekly wrap ups in my next post. For this post, I will talk about the Week 1 Wrap up which is unique among all posts since you are just meeting your students for the first time. Place the wrap up as the last thread of the discussion forum so that it is easy to find for future reference.
1. Say hello to all students. Acknowledge each and every student and answer every thread. This makes the student feel welcome in the class.
2. Mention how glad you are to meet all the students.
3. Reiterate the teaching objectives of the class so students know what to expect from the class.
4. Give a preview of what to expect for next week.
5. Tell students about classroom navigation.
6. Post your classroom navigation training video to your wrap up so students understand where to find their lecture, reading, assignments, grades, forums and tests.
7. Reassure students you are always there to answer their questions.
8. Remind students to download their syllabus.
9. Give students advice on time management skills like reading ahead so they have time to ask instructor questions.
10. Tell students that all assignments and due dates are in the syllabus and in the Announcements.
11. Tell students where to find school policies like late policy and plagiarism.
12. Most importantly, tell students where to find Tech Support help in case they have trouble with the classroom.
Week 1 is all about orienting your students to your class and allaying any fears students may have about taking your class. You want to invite students to dialogue with you and feel comfortable with you so if students have a problem, they can email you in messages right away so that you can help them solve problem they have or students feel comfortable asking you questions. Also remember to place your name at the end of each post so students know how to address you. I always place at the end of each post, Prof. Ho. In this way, students know to address me as Prof. Ho not Prof. Yo. :)
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