New Netiquette Guidelines for LSC Online
The LSC Online Programs Advisory Committee decided to craft a set of netiquette guidelines that would serve as the recommended list that faculty could use for their online courses. It's not a full policy or anything like that, just an attempt to give them some useful information to post in their online courses. Faculty are free to use them, change them, add to them, not use them at all, or whatever. The list is posted in the LSC wiki.
This project was taken on because many of our online faculty had been using a particular web resource for many years as a netiquette guide. That web page began carrying less-than-attractive banner ads and quite frankly was always more about general online netiquette rather than focused on online learning. There are quite a few other sets of guidelines out there, but many of them are rather lengthy or include items that we don't feel are needed, and occasionally we just disagreed with them. So, we decided to write a relatively short list of our own, as follows:
LSC Online Course Netiquette Guidelines
1. Behind Every Name There is a Person
a. Respect the privacy of your classmates and what they share in class.
b. Ask classmates for clarification if you find a discussion posting offensive or difficult to understand.
c. Avoid sweeping generalizations. Back up your stated opinions with facts and reliable sources.
d. Understand that we may disagree and that exposure to other people’s opinions is part of the learning experience.
e. Be respectful of each other. We’re all in this together. Before posting a comment, ask whether you would be willing to make the same comment to a person's face.
f. Keep in mind that everything you write, indeed every click of your mouse is recorded on the network server. On the Internet there are no take backs.
g. Keep in mind that you are taking a college class. Something that would be inappropriate in a traditional classroom is also inappropriate in an online classroom.
2. Online Communication
a. Be aware that typing in all capital letters indicates shouting.
b. Be careful with humor and sarcasm. Both can easily be misunderstood!
c. Review all discussion postings before posting your own to prevent redundancy.
d. Check your writing for errors by reviewing what you’ve written before submitting it.
e. Acronyms (LOL, etc.) and emoticons (smilies) are commonly used online, but be careful not to overuse them.
f. Many communications with your instructor or fellow students are best handled through email. Only post on the classroom discussion board if the conversation is relevant to others in the class.
Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.
This project was taken on because many of our online faculty had been using a particular web resource for many years as a netiquette guide. That web page began carrying less-than-attractive banner ads and quite frankly was always more about general online netiquette rather than focused on online learning. There are quite a few other sets of guidelines out there, but many of them are rather lengthy or include items that we don't feel are needed, and occasionally we just disagreed with them. So, we decided to write a relatively short list of our own, as follows:
LSC Online Course Netiquette Guidelines
1. Behind Every Name There is a Person
a. Respect the privacy of your classmates and what they share in class.
b. Ask classmates for clarification if you find a discussion posting offensive or difficult to understand.
c. Avoid sweeping generalizations. Back up your stated opinions with facts and reliable sources.
d. Understand that we may disagree and that exposure to other people’s opinions is part of the learning experience.
e. Be respectful of each other. We’re all in this together. Before posting a comment, ask whether you would be willing to make the same comment to a person's face.
f. Keep in mind that everything you write, indeed every click of your mouse is recorded on the network server. On the Internet there are no take backs.
g. Keep in mind that you are taking a college class. Something that would be inappropriate in a traditional classroom is also inappropriate in an online classroom.
2. Online Communication
a. Be aware that typing in all capital letters indicates shouting.
b. Be careful with humor and sarcasm. Both can easily be misunderstood!
c. Review all discussion postings before posting your own to prevent redundancy.
d. Check your writing for errors by reviewing what you’ve written before submitting it.
e. Acronyms (LOL, etc.) and emoticons (smilies) are commonly used online, but be careful not to overuse them.
f. Many communications with your instructor or fellow students are best handled through email. Only post on the classroom discussion board if the conversation is relevant to others in the class.
Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.
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