In Mapping out a Course, topics to be covered are
1.   First Week of Class
2.   Checklist for the First Week
3.   Creating an Effective Online Syllabus

First Week of Class

The first week of an online class is a very important time for you to establish the tone for what will happen the rest of the semester (Wright, 1999). What can you do during the first week of class? What should you do?

One can start with the following:
"This is week one, posted is lecture one, away we go."
"The syllabus is posted, go buy your books and we will discuss an assignment during the next week's online session" (Fink, 1999). (I'm translating Fink's statements into the online environment instead of face-to-face).

Instead of starting with the above statements, Fink, 1999, goes on to suggest some wonderful ideas to start with as follows:

Involve students quickly
Identify the value and importance of the subject
Set expectations
Reveal something about yourself
Establish your own credibility
Provide administrative information
Introduce the subject matter
Establish rapport - throughout the semester
Establish the "climate" for the class - throughout the semester

Adapted from Fink's face-to-face discussion of the first day of class that can be translated into the online environment as the first week of class. How would you carry these out online?

Checklist for the First Week

Here is a checklist that can help you to think about what is needed to prepare for the first WEEK of an online course. The following list will help you focus on your preparation:

Is my Welcome up?
Do I have an icebreaker planned?
Do I have a way to gather information on student backgrounds, interests, expectations for the course, questions, concerns?
Is the syllabus complete and posted in the course website?
Do I have announcements of needed information ready?
Have I outlined how students will be evaluated in the syllabus?
Are course materials and assignments ready for students?
Do I have a plan for gathering student feedback?

Although this was originally written for a face-to-face course on the first DAY, the elements expressed as most important were translated into the online environment.

Creating an Effective Online Syllabus

Here's an article on using an Interactive Syllabus. An interactive syllabus is one with links and extra resources built in. This gives an added depth, "When incorporated into online course design, the interactive syllabus can provide a high level of initial interaction between the learner and the material, resulting in increasingly progressive engagement with course materials in a nonlinear and adaptive process".

Beyond the normal expectations of a syllabus including course name, your information, course objectives, course outline, required and recommended texts, an effective syllabus should also include the following:

*Making sure that you define what you mean by participation in the class and how it will be graded.
*Claifying both your expectations of the students and what the students can expect from the course.
*Explaining how students are to proceed through the course and where everything is located.

Remember to be sure to include:
- The URL for your academic departmental webpage and your webpage
- How to label email assignments in the subject line so you instantly know what it's about
- What file formats are acceptable (eq. Word, RTF, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.)
- Contact information for technical and administrative support.

Keep Going for Day Three continued: More on Your Online Syllabus...