Instructor-Student Interaction
The course is designed to include regular and substantive interaction and communication between the student and instructor. Regardless of modality, a fully-realized educational experience provides students with ample opportunity to ask questions, receive answers, and obtain feedback and guidance from instructors.
Recommendation 3.1: Welcome Message
Lay the groundwork for positive working relationships with students by sharing a “welcome message.”
Background Information
What is this?
A welcome message introduces the instructor and the course less formally than the syllabus. It establishes the instructor as a person with an interest in the course content and in students’ success.
Why is this important?
A welcome message can be written, or video, or audio. In an online setting, the messages you share, especially at the beginning of your course, are one of the main ways you establish “teaching presence”—the feeling of being taught by a real person. Evidence shows that this can have a real benefit for students, leading to better learning.
How to implement
Typically, a welcome message is included in your Start Here or Course Introduction module, in a pre-course email, or as a pre-semester Canvas announcement.
Synopsis from Self-Review
The aim of inclusive teaching is to make each student feel welcome, valued, and supported in their learning. Students who feel welcome can focus more on course content and more easily trust and collaborate with fellow learners. Posting a welcome message or video sets the tone for inclusive learning in your course and models what is generative and appropriate to share to cultivate positive working relationships.
How to Put into Practice
A welcome message to the class—in the form of a video or written introduction—can help your students feel welcome, valued, and supported in their learning by creating an initial sense of you as someone who cares about your course topic or discipline and cares about student learning in the course.
If you opt for video, know that it does not have to be highly polished to be effective. A simple design can be more accessible and can model an emphasis on substantive communication for your students. The strategies below will help you decide what to include in your welcome message, and, if you opt for video, link to technical resources on how to record and post it to your Canvas site.
What to include in a welcome message
Think about giving a brief personal description of yourself and your relationship to the course. This is not the place for a detailed description of your syllabus, but rather a chance to demonstrate your enthusiasm for the course topic, set a professional but approachable tone, and share encouraging words as students begin their work.
Note that including some personal details in your self-introduction—hobbies, pets, family, etc.—helps humanize you as an instructor and demonstrates the type of information that is appropriate to share in a professional context when establishing a positive working relationship. Be mindful of your own comfort when deciding what to share, whether in a welcome message or other interactions with students. The point here is not to make your life an open book, but to break the virtual barrier and help students feel more connected to you as their instructor.
As you conclude, tell students what their next action should be after reviewing your welcome message. Inform them of any additional resources they should review before the start of class and any preliminary assignments they need to complete.
A great follow-up is to have students introduce themselves with an icebreaker discussion. You can encourage students to record a video instead of posting a text-based reply.
Where to post your welcome message
If you have a course introduction module or “START HERE” page in your Canvas course site, this is a great place for a welcome message to live. Other good places to post this video would be as a Canvas Announcement or in Canvas email communication with the class early in the term. (See Recommendation 2.3 Course Orientation for templates for home pages and course orientations.)
Resources for recording and posting videos to Canvas
How to record the video:
The UWSP recommended video recording tool is Kaltura, which is embedded in Canvas. It is recommended that you use the Kaltura Capture desktop recorder. See the Kaltura and Canvas at UWSP document for instructions. When it is time to record, find a quiet space, try to have good lighting–especially from the front, so that your face is visible, and use a headset if you have one to ensure your voice is audible. If you need additional support, feel free to Book an Appointment with CITL Staff.
Accessibility:
All videos need to have human-checked Closed Captions or Transcripts to meet accessibility requirements. Refer to the digital accessibility web page for training on accessibility. All videos recorded in Kaltura or uploaded to Kaltura will be automatically machine captioned. You can easily review and edit the captions using the Kaltura Caption Editing tool. See the Kaltura and Canvas at UWSP document for instructions.
How to post a video to Canvas:
We suggest that you use the Kaltura My Media Plugin to embed videos in Canvas. Please visit the Kaltura and Canvas at UWSP document for instructions.