I find making contacting students when they register right away helps with engaging both students and parents. This helps reduce the threat or uncertainty of what is to be expected.
At the online high school that I work at the students self-register for their own classes. When they self-register they give some personal information such as home school, address, grade etc. They also, give their outside (gmail, hotmail etc) email as well as their parents. Because the LMS does not send out emails to the students external email — I go into the self-reg tab every few days and send a ‘welcome letter’ to each of the students and parents. The following is an example of the email I send…
Hi <students first name>
You are receiving this email because you registered for “<course name>” at the Vancouver Learning Network.
I have been teaching high school for over twenty years. I have taught a variety of courses in the fields of mathematics, physics, computer science, photography, digital media and biology. As a teacher, my main goal is to motivate students, whether it be in the online or face-to-face environment.
So far you have access to:
Start Here section of the course that has the following:
- Getting Started
- Introduction to the Course
- Course Resources
- Content & Quizzes for the first two units.
The remaining content, assignments, quizzes, etc. will be available to you when you are officially put into the class. You are not officially registered in the class until you have completed the following Getting Started (found under the Content link) items:
- Introduce Yourself (Discussion)
- Required documentation
- Unit 1 online quiz (must complete the Introduce Yourself discussion before seeing quizzes)
- Unit 1 StartUp assignment (must complete the Introduce Yourself discussion AND the Unit 1 quiz before seeing the Dropbox for the assignment)
Expectations
What I expect of you
- Genuine and thorough effort to stay on pace and master the course material.
- A high personal standard of honesty and academic integrity.
- Prompt instructor contact with any questions, comments, or concerns before it grows into frustrations.
- A positive attitude that always assumes the best about your classmates and instructor.
What you may expect of me
- Thoughtful guidance and support through the instructional material.
- Prompt, less than 1 school day to any of your questions or concerns.
- Prompt, less than 3 school days, grading of all on-time homework, labs, and quizzes.
- A positive, encouraging attitude that always assumes the best about my students.
Counsellors can help with planning your high school courses, graduation and your path to post-secondary education. To find who your VLN counsellor is, go to http://vlns.ca/contact/staff-contact
Technical Help – Contact the VLN Help Desk
The VLN Help Desk is available to help students and instructors with technical support. The Help Desk can not answer questions specific to course content and may direct students to contact their instructor.
Contacting the VLN Help Desk:
phone: 604-713-XXXX
email: XXXX@vsb.bc.ca
Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
If you have an IEP — then email the latest IEP to XXX XXXX (VLN’s resource teacher) at xxxx@vsb.bc.ca
I’m here to help you whenever and however you need it. Ask me questions, tell me you don’t understand something, fill me in on the ways you learn best, and I’ll do what I can to help you pass this course with flying colours and be prepared for your future endeavours.
Best,
Christopher Rozitis, PhD
Contact Information:
Email: students please use the course email system
parents and others can use xxxx@vsb.bc.ca
Phone: 604-713-xxxx
Skype: xxxxxxx
What do you send to your new students in your courses?
