Course Etiquette
(From The Forthcoming Student Orientation Module)
Communicating online makes it possible to meet people from around the world, and it limits the way we can interact with one another.
In our face-to-face relationships, eye contact, body posture, facial expressions, hand gestures, voice inflection, and other nonverbal cues accompany our words. Online, especially if video is unavailable, we can't rely on non-verbals to compliment our words. Both what we say and how we say it is important.
Communication also differs amongst cultures. In some cultures, communicating clearly means speaking frankly. In others, communicating clearly involves an elaborate effort to make a point in a way that is completely non-threatening and un-embarrassing to the recipient. Sensitivity is key. Even two well-meaning individuals can misunderstand each other, even if you speak carefully, perceive accurately, and are completely familiar with each other's backgrounds. It's easy to insert default sets of values for non-verbals when they are not given. These defaults are usually based on the culture in which you were raised. Whether you intend to or not, you will read your defaults into messages, posts, threads, and other online forums. With this in mind, it's good to establish rules for online interaction.
Rules for Interacting Successfully Online
- Remember, you are dealing with people. Email, discussion threads, and speakers can hide this important fact. Refrain from personal attacks, as they draw energy away from the learning process.
- Behave in the virtual world as you would in the real world. In a class strictly for personal development, you may develop informal friendships, complete with gossip and note passing. Expect to develop more professional relationships.
- Share. Give back to the class. Give your experiences, your learning, and your opinions (when relevant). You do have value to add.
- Forgive. Assume others in your class mean the best and that slip-ups and misinterpretations of your brilliance are accidental.
- Communicate. Write and speak clearly and concisely. Say what you mean and then stop.
- Practice patience.Your peers may not be available to respond to your post or question immediately after you submit it.
- Avoid casual and personal chats in the "classroom." Use email or informal threads on MyLutherNet for these conversations/comments.
- Keep your messages succinct and direct. No one likes long, verbose diatribes.
- Respect other’s time and bandwidth. Be sure that what you are posting or sending is worth the time and consideration of others.
Emoticons
Acronyms and symbols seek to provide some body language over the bodiless medium of the network. The following list includes some common emoticons and acronyms.
- Happiness = colon + right parenthesis = :)
- Unhappiness = colon + left parenthesis = :(
- Undecided = colon + hyphen + forward stroke = :-/
- Surprise = colon + capital O = :O
- AAMOF = As A Matter of Fact
- FYI = For Your Information
- HTH = Hope That Helps
- MHOTY = My Hat's Off To You
- LOL = Laughing Out Loud
- IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
Use emoticons and acronyms as necessary, but do not overdo it. Be sensitive to your group's own micro-culture and norms as they develop during the course.