what to include in an online course orientation

There are three key areas that should be considered when creating an orientation for online learners: (1) orientation learning goals and content; (2) course design features and approach; and (3) assessment and student completion requirements.

Full Answer

What are some online orientation ideas?

Online orientation ideas are ways to welcome first year students to campus remotely. These online activities can help students adjust to the social and academic aspects of college life online. This event is similar to virtual spirit week, kind of the opposite of virtual graduation and may include online classroom games.

What should be included in a student orientation?

Generally speaking, the orientation should foster a sense of community among students, faculty, and staff, equip students with the tools necessary to be positive community members, facilitate academic preparedness and skill-building (e.g., time management), provide support and engagement resources, and

What is course orientation and how does it work?

Many online classes have a course-specific orientation, which explains how that particular class works. For many online classes, orientation is incorporated into the course as a video for you to watch or a module for you to work through.

What are the different types of orientation training?

Some types of orientation training include: Self-paced online learning programs for information like safety procedures, software skills or other technical skills Mentoring to give new hires a key resource within the company who they can go to continuously for questions and feedback

What should be included in a course orientation?

A course orientation and other begining-of-class information should include:Your own contact information, standard response time, and preferred communication methods (such as e-mail, phone, or IM)Contact information (e-mail, web site, phone number, etc.)More items...

How do you conduct an online orientation?

8 Tips for a Successful Online OrientationMake it mandatory. ... Speak their language. ... Get everyone involved. ... Petition the audience. ... Simplify the registration process. ... Include additional media channels where possible. ... Run as a live event, then simulive. ... Follow-up!

How do I create an online orientation for students?

4 Tips to Build a Great Online Orientation ProgramMake accessibility a cornerstone of the online orientation experience. ... Include your student leaders, campus advisors, and mentors for inspiration. ... Go beyond virtualizing your existing sessions. ... Plan for breaks, check-ins, and community-building.

What can I expect in online orientation?

Students need to master navigating the platform and using the features it offers. During virtual orientation, prospective students should gather information about how to access their course materials, assignments, outlines and grading rubrics, as well as how to post to a class discussion board, for example.

How can I make my orientation program interesting?

Arrange Dates. ... Make their Desk meaningful. ... Create a moment of WOW. ... Get the story behind the person. ... Skip the office tour, make it a treasure hunt. ... Take them to Team Dinner. ... Play a friendly game of any sport. ... Make the Orientation about the Employee.

What are orientation activities?

60 Awesome Icebreakers for Orientation and BeyondTrain Wreck. ... Human Knot. ... Sing-Off. ... Alliterative Name Game. ... Beach Ball. ... Pterodactyl. ... Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament. ... Telephone Charades.More items...•

How do you organize your student orientation?

10 Tips to Conduct a Great Student Orientation ProgramShare an orientation agenda in advance. ... Communicate orientation expectations and benefits. ... Create a welcoming and energetic atmosphere. ... Conduct icebreaker activities. ... Promote engagement in college traditions to build community. ... Provide relevant campus resources.More items...•

What is a virtual student orientation?

A virtual student orientation is a new student welcome week conducted remotely. As online college courses increase, more campuses move o-week activ...

What are the benefits of a virtual student orientation?

Student bodies are diverse. College attendees often come from many different states and countries. Virtual student orientations give students the o...

What are virtual orientation week ideas?

Virtual orientation week ideas are ways to engage the incoming class and mark the transition into college. Though the student’s physical environmen...

What are good virtual orientation activities?

Some good virtual orientation activities include scavenger hunts, social media challenges, and online campus tours.

How do you plan a virtual student orientation?

You should start planning a virtual student orientation months in advance. Though you will want to nail down the technical details early, you can c...

What are the key areas of orientation?

There are three key areas that should be considered when creating an orientation for online learners: (1) orientation learning goals and content; (2) course design features and approach; and (3) assessment and student completion requirements.

What is orientation experience?

Orientation experiences support students' transition to the first year of college, which is essential for student success. 1 This support is particularly important for those students from historically marginalized populations. 2

Why is orientation important for students?

Student orientation helps to foster student success; research suggests that those who participate in orientation programs generally perform better than those who do not and persist to graduation at a higher rate. 3.

Why is it important to have a positive introduction to online learning?

The goal here is a positive introduction to online learning; therefore, it is essential that students receive a timely, humanized response from an empathetic voice. After all, successful completion of the course is part of building students' self-efficacy for online learning.

Benefits of a course orientation

When thinking of an orientation, one for a college or a program probably comes to mind. However, orientations are an important component for individual courses too. Most students take multiple classes in a semester and each have unique structures, requirements, policies and expectations.

Building a course orientation

In most cases, courses have some form of online learning and technology integration regardless of the delivery mode. Online platforms allow you to build and share interactive course orientations. Often this is a student orientation module within your online course that can be repurposed and updated each semester making it an efficient resource.

Components of a course orientation

There are a variety of resources that can be included in a course orientation, below are some suggestions:

Create your course orientation

Follow the directions in the Course Orientation Template to build your student course orientation module.

Next steps

Now that you have created your course orientation, the next step is to either finish your course organization or begin unit planning.

Literature

For further information about course orientations, see the following readings.

Description

A Course Orientation Module serves as the orientation to an online course. Creating an Orientation Module is very similar to the events that can occur in first night of a face-to-face class.

Link to example artifact (s)

A generic Word Course Orientation Module template File:Module0 template.docx

Link to scholarly reference (s)

Chico. (2009). Rubric for online instruction. California State University, Chico. http://www.csuchico.edu/eoi/documents/rubricpdf

Citation

Chen, B., Thompson, K., Sugar, A., & Vargas, J. (2015). Implement a course orientation module. In B. Chen & K. Thompson (Eds.), Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository. Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida Center for Distributed Learning. https://topr.online.ucf.edu/course-orientation-module/.

What is orientation training?

Orientation Training: Definition and Checklist (With Example and Template) A formal process of introducing new employees to their job and teammates can help increase their confidence and improve their performance. It can also help them feel more valued within your company and improve long-term retention.

Why do we need an orientation checklist?

An orientation training checklist is helpful when you're taking new hires through the orientation process since it can remind you of tasks you need to complete and ensure nothing is overlooked. Here's a template you can use as you create your own:

Why is orientation important?

Orientation is important because it ensures the company has a streamlined, systematic approach to communicate responsibilities and expectations to a new employee, creating a smoother transition into their new position. An effective orientation helps to reduce the likelihood of employee turnover because of misunderstood expectations.

How does orientation help employees?

Improve performance: An orientation can help employees develop relationships and build key skills rapidly, which can improve their overall performance.