• Include learning outcomes that are measurable and referenced throughout the course
• Module descriptions are especially important if your modules are not all open to students at the beginning of the semester

• Participation: Online learners often expect their courses to work like a correspondence course – they can do what they want, when they want. The fact that there are deadlines, interaction, and potentially, group work involved can be a surprise. Outline the pace of the course from the beginning to set realistic expectations for student participation. If you have 1-week modules with more than one regularly occurring due date (for example, initial discussion posts are due every Friday and quizzes are due every Sunday) it is critical for them to understand the pace and rhythm in that first week.
• Time Zones: Though time differences are not something you may think about on a regular basis, it’s critical to clarify time zones for assignments, communication, and synchronous activities in an online learning environment.
• Office Hours: Many instructors find that holding online open office hours is less effective than asking students to request a meeting and finding a mutually acceptable time. Include options for how to meet that include both phone and video. Indicate how quickly you will respond to meeting requests; this provides a signal to students that you are accessible to them should they have a question or a concern.

• In addition to a personal introduction and a course introduction, consider providing a brief teaching philosophy or teaching style statement in your syllabus or introductory materials. For more information developing your online teaching persona and philosophy see the The Online Teacher module in this program.
• Following is one example:

My Approach/Commitment:

In this course, my primary goal is to establish a safe and inclusive environment that will support your learning. Throughout the semester, I invite your questions and critiques, desiring thoughtful dialogue to be central to our learning experience. In this course, we will work to understand a variety of positions and practices associated with the qualitative inquiry process, pushing one another to question taken-for-granted beliefs and assumptions.

Throughout the course, we will remind each other that there is not “one right” way to carry out a qualitative research study. Rather, there are many theoretical and methodological positions from which to work when considering qualitative research. As such, we will work to understand a variety of positions. This does not mean that you may not disagree with one another or with me about these varied perspectives and approaches. Yet, in order to facilitate our learning environment, we will each work to cultivate a classroom space that generates respectful, thoughtful, and empathetic understanding. What we come to learn is a shared experience; thus, we will all work to cultivate a community of learners.

In our learning community, I will position myself as a co-learner, as well as a teacher. Hence, if I am teaching and you are not learning, then I am not teaching. Please let me know! Throughout the semester, I welcome your feedback and will encourage your participation in an informal mid semester evaluation. In addition, throughout the semester, you can expect feedback from me, with this feedback designed to support your growth as a qualitative researcher.

Include technology requirements such as needing a headset with microphone, a webcam, or specialized software, if applicable

Include clear statements about expectations for academic integrity, consequences for academic misconduct, and any Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct.

• For an on-ground course, you may automatically include a syllabus section with detailed assignment instructions as that syllabus may be the only piece of paper students keep.
• For an online class, the detailed assignment instructions should be kept with the Canvas Assignment, Discussion, or Quiz and only a brief overview of the assignments needs to go in the syllabus.

• For an on-ground class, your syllabus may include a very detailed schedule of topics, materials, assignments, and due dates.
• Online, you may move some of this information from your syllabus document to the Canvas environment. As you put due dates in published Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes, they are automatically added to both the course Calendar and at the bottom of the Canvas Syllabus Tool. When you change a date in one place it is automatically updated everywhere else in the course where you would have entered it in a due date field. Wherever you type a due date in a text box or a document, if you change it you have to manually find every instance where you typed it in and change it yourself. By using these automatic schedule tools you know everything will be consistent and students will not see different due dates for the same assignment.