Many online courses start with a face-to-face orientation session, typically lasting for a few hours or a day. For students studying mainly online, there is real value in bringing everyone together. As one teacher observed:

‘You can immediately see, from the look in their eyes, which students are going to have difficulty working online, and take steps to help them.’

The orientation session usually involves talk about what is required, followed by some work directly on computer. It may also be an important social occasion and, in some courses, the only opportunity for students to meet face-to-face:

‘Our students like meeting each other. We usually throw a barbecue to try to get them to relax. Until they meet for the first time, they are very reluctant to email each other or share their views online. But once they’ve met, it gets easier.’

If your students are not used to computers, it may help to do some online work with them as a group.

‘With my students, working on the first few modules together takes the stress out of feelings like "where am I up to" and "how do I do this?". I tried to make sure that when they leave the classroom, they have the confidence to go on.’

More confident and capable students should be able to work more independently. You, as the teacher, can move around helping individuals or, to take things one step further, can go to your office and interact with them online.

Depending on the course and the students involved, orientations typically cover such things as:

  • getting organised and managing your time
  • using the online platform, such as Janison Toolbox
  • arranging access to email1, and using emails
  • security issues such as the need to keep PIN numbers private
  • standards of behaviour that apply when you email people and engage in chats
  • practice in using such things as forums and chats
  • putting people into groups and, if there are to be specific group tasks, nominating someone as the group co-ordinator (one role of this person might be to co-ordinate submitting group assignments and emails to the teacher).

An important aspect of the orientation is to ‘sell’ online learning. After all, it’s an opportunity to develop new skills, it’s very flexible, it will allow participants to work with some stimulating materials. Hopefully, it will be fun!

Some modules have a lot of content. Given the way some modules are structured, and the limitations of home computers, it can take students a long time to download and print the necessary material. You can help by distributing paper copies during the orientation.

You may also have CDs to distribute. These can contain modular material, learning materials based around textbooks, references, or software such as Acrobat Reader that students will require.

If you’re running a course across a large geographical area, everyone doesn’t need to come to the same location for the orientation (although it is better if they can). Alternatives include:

  • running several orientations in parallel, at different centres, with the help of onsite facilitators
  • using teleconferencing to walk people (students and, if necessary, facilitators) through the materials

As well as the face-to-face orientation, it is useful to build orienting information into each module. Modules which do this typically include such things as:

  • getting your computer set up with the right software
  • getting connected online, and opening the browser
  • how the module is structured
  • basic skills such as moving around the module, selecting and opening items.

1Even though you can arrange email addresses through many free sites, these may not be very suitable because they often have restrictions on how many emails you can retain, and on the size of attachments. Free email sites also attract a lot of junk mail.