First Steps
Phone Call
Calling each participant gives them a chance to hear the voice of the person behind the screen. (You can use a VOIP service like Skype for international students to save money.) Participants rave about facilitators who take the time to introduce themselves by phone. Check to confirm that they have received your email, that they know when the course begins, and ask if they have any questions. Let them know how to reach you, and thank them for being part of the class.
Facilitator Profile
Review the information covered in Module One regarding the creation of your Facilitator Profile.
Students want to know how they can reach you, why they should listen to you, and how they are like you. Providing your contact information handles the first question. Your educational and professional background will give them a "compelling why" to respect your opinions, and your personal information (anything from teams you support to your favorite vacation spot) will create points of connection with your participants. Check your profile now to see if you’ve included all this information in a friendly and approachable way.
Announcements
Announcements are your very first line of contact with participants during the course. Announcements are the perfect way to welcome your class, keep them updated on any changes to the syllabus, and direct them to the Facilitator Forum when you post new information there. Announcements should be brief, pique participants' interest, and remind them of important information.
In Sakai, only the subject line of your last three announcements will appear on the course home page. Therefore, make sure the announcement title is specific enough to let participants know why they should open it up and read the rest. Check how announcements are displayed in your LMS to see what will be most effective in that environment.
Positive announcements are the easiest for participants to remember and act on. Notice the announcements posted so far in this course. When you first logged in to this training, hopefully the announcement reassured you that you had found the right place and that you were not alone. The first announcement also gave you some directions on what to do next.
The Welcome Announcement (the first announcement you make to your class) sets the tone of the entire course.
The Welcome Announcement should include the following:
- A positive, upbeat welcome
- Direction to the Roster and your profile for your contact information
- Directions on what participants should do each time they log in. For example:
- Each time you log in to the course it is suggested that you do the following:
- Read new announcements (you've found the first one right here!)
- Check the Forums > Facilitator Forum for new posts from your facilitator.
- Check for personal comments from your facilitator in Messages.
- Each time you log in to the course it is suggested that you do the following:
Once you have crafted your announcement, save it on your computer so it will be ready to modify the next time you facilitate.
Introductions
It's a good idea to incorporate some type of introduction activity in the first module of the class. The introductions might take the form of initial blog posts or discussion forums. These introductions are the first opportunity for participants to make connections to each other, and for you to make connections with them. Commenting on or replying to each participant's introduction is a great way to start the conversation. Remember to add value to your comments. Short, pithy responses will stop participants from reading your posts.
Course Calendar
The Course Calendar is a listing of the specific due dates for each module’s weekly learning activities. Post these dates in the Calendar so students will see these dates highlighted on the course home page. If your LMS doesn't have a Calendar tool, post the deadlines somewhere easy for participants to find, like the Facilitator Forum.
Use the Course Calendar posted in this course as an example to follow. Information on grading and handling late work will be covered in the next module.
You may choose to give some flexibility in due dates as a facilitator. For example, if a holiday falls during your course, you may wish to give an extra day or two for participants to complete their work. When a course requires a group assignment and feedback to other groups, you might want to allow a full week for the group portion and not require feedback until Wednesday. This would make the work overlap with the next module, but might be the best solution sometimes. Use your professional judgment to give a little bit of "wiggle room" when you feel the situation warrants it.