The importance of socialising in online courses

“Online socialisation = familiarising and providing bridges between cultural, social and learning environments” (Gilly Salmon, The 5 Stage Model)

What is socialisation?

Socialisation is a way of:

• sharing information and making connections.

• bringing a group of individuals together.

• setting the standards for behaviour (netiquette) in an online environment.

• building a group dynamic.

• developing a sense of online presence.

• assisting online acclimatisation.

• In a real-life classroom, social interaction can

happen naturally and spontaneously. Aside from

‘getting to know you’ activities, a group bond can

easily be created from shared moments, such as

walking and chatting together as students

enter/leave the classroom or laughing together

while exchanging stories.

• In the online environment, interaction

needs to be built in. “Developing e-

communities does not happen by accident,

rather it is fostered,” (Russell Stannard, 2013).

• Simple tasks that break the ice

help create an online community,

which is vital for a successful

online course.

Why is socialising important in an online course?The socialising or ‘climate setting’ phase is crucial, because it:

• reduces feelings of isolation, creates a sense of belonging and group identity.

• helps to maintain learners’ motivation.

• lowers the possibilities of lurking and encourages participation from an early stage.

• enables the learner to feel supported by the teacher and by the other learners.

• increases the chances of learners working collaboratively in future tasks.

• ensures a stronger sense of responsibility in group and pair work.

• gets learners feeling comfortable working online.

Online Socialising Tasks and Tools Possible tasks for initial intro to course, group:

• Post your profile, read and comment on other profiles

• Answer an expectations questionnaire, read the group summary

Possible tasks for whole group Getting to Know You:

• Top 5 • Map - add your location, a photo, an unusual fact• 2 Truths and a Lie• If I were a X, I’d be . . . • Find something in common / different

Building on initial socialisation task:• One-to-one contact - email one person and comment on

their intro info• One-to-one problem solving - ask one person for their

solution to a question / problem you have related to the course

• Small group task completion - e.g. discuss, agree on or add to course netiquette rules

• Small or whole group chat room games - e.g. Ask a This or that question and nominate someone to answer

Types of tools to use for socialisation:• Email• Discussion forums• Quiz or questionnaire tools• Text chat• Video conference

Tips

• Clarify in advance the amount and value of peer collaboration involved in the course

• Consider students and context when deciding task interaction patterns

• State the aim(s) of a socialization task• State who, when, what, how many, how long when

assigning collaborative tasks• Set a procedure for students to follow when a group

member doesn’t participate• Keep the technical ability required for task completion

within the means of your students by keeping it simple and / or scaffolding use of new tools

The Role of the Tutor in Online Socialising

ESSENTIAL

• Provide a welcome email and pre course documents that detail the course overview, Moodle (VLE) instructions and how to log in. Tell candidates to print it as a handy guide. Give out user name and password in separate email. Ask students to complete their personal profile.

• Distribute a Pre Course Survey to establish the candidates’ expectations and set goals. Monitor this and make available to whole cohort. This is to be completed before the start of the course.

• Set out the first module’s objectives with clear instructions to ‘read first’.

• Outline clear and manageable task deadlines considering the individual.

• Let students know your contactable hours and availability, this can be incorporated in the ‘get to know you’ activity.

• Establish ground rules and give opportunity to review ‘netiquette’ in a very student centred activity. Make an informative task to demonstrate effective communication online that includes the dos and don’ts.

• Create a strong sense of an online community, which builds motivation.

• Ensure the cohort know how to use the online tools needed for the course.

• Suggest students become familiar with copyright conventions and find sources of openly available images within their tasks.

• Keep communication with candidates regular, concise and informative as well as clear and friendly with frequent encouragement.

• Set up the ‘get to know you’ activities for the whole cohort and pairs candidates together to make the tasks collaborative.

Organise the first chat room discussion with an easy to achieve task, adding clear instructions both for the task and IT functions. Carry out an attendance poll first.

DESIRABLE• Help monitor unanswered emails or track email (spam/junk)

problems in order to ensure all the cohort are able to communicate easily with each other.

• Provide guidance on turn taking and contributions.

• Celebrate achievements of the cohort and communicate this clearly.

• Offer advice about time management and online learning.

• Plan early activities to get students communicating.

• Limit your student corrections in public to avoid embarrassing anyone and to be aware of cultural differences concerning this.

• Advise the cohort that we’re creating a digital footprint and that everything on the net stays there in the (possible) public domain. This can be included in the ‘netiquette’ discussion. At this stage it could be a good idea to have the cohort agree on the privacy settings they wish to be used.

• Set helpful questions to answer for an applicable journal exercise.

Prepared by:

Victoria Colleen Clare Mahmoud