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Tips/suggestions on helping students start strong in your DE classes, from the MiraCosta Distance Education Class Authentication Compliance and Start-of-Term Availability Procedures document:

Students can be anxious about where and how they should first access their DE classes, and clear communication from faculty is very important.

Please remember, regarding student communication about how to get started in DE classes:

- - In terms of faculty contracts, instructional work begins on the first day of the semester. Communicating with students prior to the first day cannot be an expectation - it is a choice a faculty member makes independently.
  - Students add and drop up to and well beyond the first day of class. “Getting started” communications likely need to be repeated and available to students for review within the class.
  - Canvas Inbox messages can only be sent to a class once the course is published. Additionally, communicating through Canvas does not guarantee that students will receive messages via email. They can independently adjust their Canvas notification settings. It’s a good idea for initial class emails to students to be sent via SURF. Advising students about how to set their Canvas notification settings is also a good idea.

With the above in mind, here are some ideas for ensuring that students are able to successfully access and get started in DE classes. Students want to know:

- - where they should access the class,
  - when they should access it and get started, and
  - how to navigate the class, and
  - what they should do in order to start strong.

Ideas for how you might provide students with this information:

- - Send a message to your students through SURF before or on the first day of the semester
  - Create an announcement in your Canvas class that is released the morning of the first day of the semester
  - Create a screencast introducing yourself, your class, and your expectations. Link to it within your class, and also provide it in communications described above.
  - Ensure your class is available (published) in Canvas on (or before) the first day of the semester. At the discretion of faculty, classes may be opened to students as early as January 1, June 1, or August 1 - the (typical) Canvas “term start” dates. Once these dates arrive, publishing your class means that enrolled students will be able to access it.

As mentioned above, many faculty like to send a welcome email to students before the semester begins, including details about the class. If you do this, it's best to send the email from SURF rather than from Canvas, for two reasons:

If you haven't yet published your Canvas class, you can't send email from it;
If students have adjusted their Canvas notification settings, they may not immediately receive your message.

Further Preparing DE Students When Class Begins

Once your class begins, as mentioned previously, many faculty require completion of an activity such as an introductory discussion board or a syllabus quiz within the first few days of class, in order to identify students who do not appear to be participating. Those students may need assistance, or they may need to be dropped if they have no intention of completing the class.

Most DE classes incorporate some orientation to the class and to the DE environment. Sharing a welcome video that includes a walkthrough of how to navigate the class can be an excellent support.

Many faculty like to incorporate Canvas support resources and/or encourage students to attend a student success workshop related to Canvas and online learning. Some possibilities include:

The MiraCosta Student Online Academic Readiness 1-hour workshop (formerly known as the Student Orientation to Online Learning), offered multiple times each semester in person and online
Any of the CVC-OEI's online student readiness tutorials
The Canvas Student Orientation independent course created by MiraCosta faculty member Robert Kelley

Ensuring DE Students are Aware of College Support Services

It is required that MiraCosta faculty teaching online "Help students in a DE course section to be aware of MiraCosta College support services and resources, especially those available online."

A simple yet important way to do this is to ensure students are aware of the Student Support button in the Canvas global navigation menu, which connects students to a wealth of live online MiraCosta student support resources from the library, online tutoring, STEM & Math Learning Center, Writing Center, computer lab staff, student help desk, counseling, Career Center, Student Health Services, CARE team, and more.

Providing specific direction and encouragement to students to utilize these services can make a big difference. For instance, faculty may include a link to online tutoring services within assignment instructions when they know that some of their students may benefit from that kind of support.

You Aren't Tech Support ... but you should know where to send students who need it!

It's smart for both you and your students if you emphasize the tech support options available to students in your syllabus and in your introductory materials you share with students.

Reinforce for students the ease of receiving help with Canvas simply by clicking the Tech Help button at the bottom of the Canvas global navigation menu. Support includes both Canvas's 24x7 technical support hotline and MiraCosta's Student Help Desk, along with links to Canvas student guides.

It's also important for you to know about the technology options MiraCosta makes available to students if their technology is insufficient for success.

MiraCosta has computer labs where students are always welcome to access Canvas and work on any of their classes. Helpful staff in the labs can also assist students with any issues they encounter in using Canvas and navigating their classes:

Oceanside campus
San Elijo campus
Community Learning Center
Online computer lab assistance (while this won't help students access a computer, it does provide online connection to students looking for the kind of expert assistance in using Canvas, Office and Adobe tools, and so on, that MiraCosta's computer lab staff provides)

Finally, the MiraCosta College library has laptop computers and wifi hotspots available for checkout for an entire semester if needed. Share the request form with students in your syllabus and/or within a page of your online class to help them take advantage of this opportunity if their technology is not up to the task.

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