Ten Tips for Effective Online Facilitation

Take some time to think about how you want to introduce yourself and your online course content to your future participants. Compose a customized “Welcome Message” for the course you plan to facilitate. Use the tool(s) you feel most appropriate for communicating your welcome information. For example, some facilitators include elements other than text in their initial email such as an image or a link to an audio file. Submit the assignment to your facilitator by the end of this session. Your facilitator will provide you with feedback on this draft welcome message so that you can update and revise it accordingly and then use it when you run your online course for local participants.

Typically, your course “Welcome Message” should be sent on the first day of the course Orientation. This is a critical message because it introduces the facilitator and the course content to the participants, it provides necessary login information, and it sets the tone for the overall online experience. Even if you are planning to hold a face-to-face meeting with your participants at the beginning of the course, your welcome email is still very important, as it will give you the opportunity to reinforce the key information participants will need to participate effectively in the course.

Your message should be written in narrative form – it is usually between two and five paragraphs in length. When composing your message, you should take care to address all of the following items:

• Introduce yourself as the facilitator and let participants know you are excited to work with them. Tell them a bit about yourself in one or two sentences, such as “I am the technology coordinator for my school district” or “I am a 6th grade teacher at XYZ school.”
• Introduce the course title and content so participants know they are in the right (or wrong) course.
• Consider adding a brief description of the orientation activities and directions for navigating the course site, especially finding the assignment page and the discussion board.
• Include important dates such as the course orientation, any face-to-face meetings, start, and end dates.
• Provide participants with a brief overview of the course structure and pacing, e.g. how many sessions there are, the length of each session, the day of the week that each session begins, etc.
• Provide participants with the course login information, including the URL to access the course and participant usernames and passwords.
• Ask participants to confirm their email addresses with you. (This is so you can make sure from the start of the course that you have a correct and functional email for each participant.)
• Let participants know when and how to contact you in case they have questions or need help at any point during the course.
• Provide participants with information regarding incentives such as PDPs or CEUs, if applicable.

This message is also the perfect opportunity to ask participants what type of course-related communication they prefer, e.g. course announcement, email, podcast, text message, etc. and what device(s) they plan to use to receive the communication, e.g. computer, mobile device, smartphone, etc. You may find that some participants prefer audio and some prefer text – some people may want to receive course-related information on their smartphones. Asking the right questions about communication preferences in your welcome message will allow you to develop a communication strategy that meets the needs of all participants.

Finally, be sure to pay close attention to the tone of your message. Be welcoming and friendly to help overcome any anxieties your participants might be feeling, especially if this is their first online course.