Setting a Positive Tone

Just as you try to set a certain tone in your classroom to support student learning, your online class also has a tone and a feel to it. While students may persist in a course they perceive as not welcoming, we know that starting off a course with a virtual equivalent of “look to your left, look to your right, because one of you won’t be here by the end of the semester” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In an in-person course, your physical personality and presence predominantly set the tone. Online, it’s a combination of your online presence along with the tone of your writing and the look and feel of your course site. This week we will be looking at those last two items.