Lesson 1: Setting Expectations

Lesson Objectives

After completing this Lesson, participants will:• Understand the importance of setting

expectations for an online course.• Identify important factors in setting

expectations for an online course.• Identify key elements of an online course

syllabus.

Importance of Setting Expectations

• Learners face tough challenges adapting to online environments.

• Individuals must create mental models in order to understand and internalize the online environment.

• By defining your student expectations with a well designed syllabus, Module Overviews, and a system for open communication, your students will feel more comfortable in the online classroom and be able to set clear goals of what they need to accomplish.

Setting Expectations on SurvivorExpectations are set in many ways in order for people to understand their responsibilities. Notice how the host of the TV show, Survivor, sets the expectations for the participants with detailed instructions outlining the purpose of the event.

Focus Questions

• Why is it important to set your students’ expectations in the online environment?

• How do you set the expectations of your students in your face-to-face (f2f) classroom?

• Why must an online syllabus be even more detailed and specific than a f2f syllabus?

Tips for Setting Student Expectations

• Email students a week before the course begins to introduce yourself and explain the course goals.

• Give students access to the classroom a few days before class begins, so they can get familiar with the online environment.

• Use the Announcements function in Blackboard to prepare students for the weekly lesson and summarize previous lessons.

• Create a Module Overviews area (a check-list of everything that is due for each module).

• Create a detailed syllabus.

The Syllabus

• The roadmap for your course.• A good syllabus sets up

expectations and helps students manage their time in an effective manner.

• Break up content into small chunks (use hyperlinks).

• Students value clarity.

Components of a Good Online Syllabus

• Instructor contact information.•  Course Description, Goals, and Objectives.• Participant performance requirements (quality and quantity of

participation).• Technical requirements and software they will need in order to participate

in the course.• An outline of the content (topics or modules included in the course)

o Readings.o Audio.o Links to outside resources.o Other content pertaining to the module.

Components of a Good Online Syllabus• The schedule for interaction, dialogue, discussion forums, or

chats.• The pre-assessment quiz.• Rules for participating in the course.• Examples of acceptable and unacceptable discussion board

posts.• Rubric for grading discussion board posts.

o Click to view example: http://www.udel.edu/janet/MARC2006/rubric.html

• Guidance for students on effectively managing their time.

Module Overviews

• Provide a Module Overview section that includes a Check Sheet of every assignment and activity for each module. Be sure to include the date each assignment or activity is due.

• This will help students stay on track and feel at peace in the online classroom. See the Module Overview for this class to get a better idea of this concept.

Time Management for Students

In the well known study by Chickering and Ehrmann (1996) they stated, “Learning to use one’s time well is critical for students and professionals alike. Allocating a realistic amount of time means effective learning for students and effective teaching for faculty” (p.4).

Time Management for Students

• Have students create two schedules to help them manage their time.o A schedule for the time they will be online participating in class

discussions, downloading information, and learning online.o A schedule for the time of study offline, reading the textbook,

reviewing notes, writing, and participating in other activities with the computer off (Draves, 2002).

A Typical Three Hour Course

• Naturally, online courses will vary in time and workload, however, the following bullet points will give you a gauge for a typical 3 hour course.

• According to the finding of Dr. Rita Conrad, presented at the LERN annual conference in 2001, a typical 3 hour course would include the following time allotments:o 40 hours of reading.o 20 hours of discussion with the teacher or students.o 30 hours of doing assignments and projects.o 30 hours of studying and taking tests.o 15 hours of management tasks.o 135 hours total (2002).

Good Examples of a Web-Based Syllabus

The links below will take you to web sites that provide examples of a good online syllabus. Examine each of these links and think of what you might add or subtract from your current syllabus if you where teaching online.

COBL example online syllabushttp://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/exampleSyllabus.asp

Closure

In this lesson, you learned the first step to effectively facilitating your online course, setting student expectations. A well planned syllabus will help your students succeed in your online course. A good syllabus will also help to enhance the learning and establish a comprehensive idea of the overall design of the course.