Office: I still plan on hosting office hours, even if my students live hours away. After all, office hours are crucial for any student to come in and ask questions. I also plan on hosting virtual office hours, so that I am available to my students in person and through Skype.
Email:
In an online course, email is going to “be a primary mode of communication”
(Warnock 40). A specialty in any of my syllabus is including a clause about
proper email etiquette. I have seen so many informal emails that I have to say
in my syllabus that I expect to be addressed in a proper way and not “Hey Dude!”
I also plan on including a clause that any email sent by 10:30 PM will be
answered the following day. That way, I do not have to spend late hours waiting
on desperate emails from students who waited until the last minute to do their
major research project.
Escape
Clauses: Sometimes, in online courses, students can get easily disengaged and discouraged.
After all, there is no one that is an “active” presence in the classroom,
reminding them of important due dates. That is why, I will aim to include those
key drop dates in the syllabus. That way, they do not have to go to the
university website to find out when is the absolute latest that they can drop
the course.
Rules
for Incomplete or Late Assignments: I will have very clear deadlines for
incomplete or late assignments. Although I will be a little bit more flexible
as an online teacher versus a face to face teacher, I still want to stress to
my students the importance of turning assignment in on time.
Skill
Sets: I want to ensure that my students have as level of a playing field as
possible. That is why I want to make sure that my students can operate
Microsoft Word and are willing to become familiar with the University Library
website in order to be able to succeed in my class. After all, knowing how to
set up a document and do basic research is the foundation to any writing
course.
Technology
Excuses: I know, computers tend to “go to the big Apple Store in the sky” right
before a major assignment is due. But, there has to be some sort of
accountability. That is why I will not accept any late work due to not having
Internet access or a computer. I come from the school of thought that if you
are enrolled in an online course, you should have access to a computer or the
Internet. If this is an issue, I would probably recommend that that student
should probably drop.
Although
the syllabi for online courses may require some clearer languages and higher
technological expectations for students than the syllabi for face to face
courses, the syllabi are basically the same thing. After all, the courses
should have the same material. They are just taught on different medium. With
this in mind, it does ease my mind a little bit
Comment Question: What are
requirements in your hypothetical online syllabus?
Works Cited
Warnock, Scott. Teaching Writing
Online: How and Why. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2009.
Print.
This sounds really organized! I really like how you've thought through all of the various aspects of a course, from office hours to late assignments. If I were a student, I think I would enjoy being in such a structured class.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate a lot that you point out those key parts of syllabus design! Setting office hours for students with my students is what I think about when designing my own syllabus as well. Requirement of email etiquette is very important for students because it might influence their communication with the instructor if it is so casual. I think you emphasize students' responsibility a lot when designing your syllabus, such as later work, skills excuses, which I think is a good strategy if we want to build students' independent learning personality. I would say I can do a good job if I have such a syllabus designed by you because I know my teacher's expectation to me.
ReplyDeleteGood idea for a blog, especially for new teachers or yet to be teachers. I with I had thought of it :)
ReplyDelete