Niagara College Canada

Inclusive and supportive learning environments are ones in which all students receive equitable treatment, are able to access their learning materials, can contribute in meaningful ways to course activities and complete course assignments, and are supported to achieve their learning goals. This section offers important recommendations for how you can create a positive classroom climate and provide the necessary resources to encourage and empower your students in their learning.

How can I create a positive learning environment in my online course?

Co-create and maintain classroom norms and expectations with your students.

We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating! At the beginning of your course, invite students to help you establish shared expectations and guidelines for respectful communication. Embed reminders about these norms and expectations when posting activities and assignments that require student interaction.

Niagara College’s Student Rights and Responsibilities Office (SRRO) has generated a list of netiquette tips for online learning.  These are available for download from the SRRO homepage at https://www.niagaracollege.ca/srro/.

Another great list of potential guidelines to help you get started – Student Guidelines for Communicating in Online, Professional Contexts.

Routinely check in with your students and ask for feedback on their experience in your course.

Consider inviting students to share what they are enjoying in your course, where you can make improvements in your approach, and more. Familiar student feedback activities, like Stop-Start-Continue, also translate well into online courses.

See: Creating a form with Microsoft Forms

Ask your students to introduce themselves to you and invite them to share any pertinent information they would like you to know to ensure they feel welcome and included in your course.

Just like in the face-to-face classroom, it’s very important that you make an effort to get to know your online students. This can help you to understand their strengths, interests and educational backgrounds which will help you to build rapport with them and tailor your examples. It’s also important to remember that students may have privacy concerns, so where possible you will want to offer individuals options in terms of how they introduce themselves to their peers and what they share. For example, you may give students the option of sharing their pronouns with you and you can model this practice by sharing your own pronouns in your introductory video or announcement. Also, you may want to ask students to let you know if they go by a different name than the one listed on the official class list.

Use settings to limit synchronous communication appropriately.

There have been unfortunate instances in which video sharing in synchronous online courses has been used to share inappropriate, vulgar or hateful images. When using a synchronous platform, such as Microsoft Teams, to communicate with students it is important to understand available communication features, including video functionality and private chatting, and it is critical to set appropriate limits on their use.

See: MS Teams (online meetings)

Address and remove inappropriate or disrespectful commentary right away.

Inappropriate or disrespectful behaviour can occur in both synchronous (i.e. MS Teams) and asynchronous (i.e. Brightspace discussions) online settings. It is important that you consistently monitor student communication within your online course and remove any inappropriate, disrespectful, or hateful images or speech that appear as soon as possible. Prior to deleting the hateful images or speech that have appeared, it is important that you take a screenshot to capture the image/text for reporting purposes. In MS Teams, session moderators have the ability to remove participants who are not abiding by shared classroom norms. Instructors can also remove inappropriate student responses or threads within Brightspace Discussions. Consistently remind all students about respectful dialogue expectations and, when issues arise,  follow-up with individual students who may have initiated problematic commentary to highlight your concerns, discuss any resulting consequences and confirm ongoing expectations. If other members of your course have been exposed to or targets of disrespectful communication, you will also want to touch base with them to assure them that you are taking appropriate actions and to ask them what additional support they may require to continue to learn effectively in your course.

Report inappropriate or disrespectful commentary and behaviour.

Faculty should report the incident to their Associate Dean who will refer the issue to the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office (SSRO). Faculty should ensure that when a student behaviour violates a particular policy, they follow the process outlined in the policy.

Anticipate and manage potential conflict.

Conflict can arise in any learning environment, but may arise in particular ways in your online course. Sometimes the relative anonymity of a student’s online presence may make them feel more inclined to post inappropriate speech.   Further, there are greater chances in an online environment for the misinterpretation of comments since text-based discussions will not allow you or your students to see or hear other students. If conflict arises, be sure to address it directly and check in individually with all students involved.

Niagara College Student Code of Conduct

The Student Rights and Responsibilities Office (SRRO) manages reports of non-academic student violations to the Student Code of Conduct and/or other non-academic applicable policies governing students. The SRRO uses an educational approach to assist students in understanding their rights and responsibilities which contributes to a positive student experience while maintaining a safe and respectful environment. All students are expected to act responsibly and uphold standards of conduct that form the basis for good citizenship which includes civility, responsibility and respect. To report a violation, fill out the Student Misconduct Form, and discuss the issue with your Associate Dean who will refer the issue to SRRO. For more information, visit www.niagaracollege.ca/srro.

How can I best promote and enhance student access in my course?

Explicitly encourage students with Letters of Accommodation to reach out to you.

In your welcoming announcement to the course, consider including a general statement that encourages students who have LOAs to reach out to you early on and state that you are happy to ensure that their needs will be met during your course of instruction. By warmly inviting students to reach out, they may be more inclined to access the appropriate accommodations they need to be successful in your course.

Anticipate diversity in how students will access your course and learning activities and plan appropriately.

The diverse lived experiences and realities of your students will impact how students participate in your online course.

• Some students will have family and personal obligations that require them to access your course during off hours. Make sure that you provide ample windows of time for students to complete tests and other assignments.
• Some students may experience difficulties in your course due to access to web-enabled devices and stable internet connections. Remember to prioritize simplicity and accessibility for all course materials and technology tools you may require your students to use.

Ask your students to let you know if they are experiencing challenges accessing your course materials or completing any activities and/or assessments.

While you may have spent careful time producing accessible documents and creating accessible activities and assessments for your course, it is difficult to know how students are experiencing and accessing these materials in your class. You may want to encourage your students to let you know if they are experiencing any challenges with access or accessibility. By showing that you are open to hearing about potential issues, students may feel more inclined to get in touch with you.

How can I best support the wellbeing and success of my students in an online environment?

Connect students with key services and supports available to them.

Sometimes students may be unaware of all the supports and services they have access to even in an online setting. Students are more likely to make use of these available resources when instructors draw attention to them by posting them on their Blackboard learning site. For example, you might want to post Academic Advising’s Strategies and Resources for Online Learning.

Communicate to your students that you are aware that their academic responsibilities are just one part of all the other responsibilities they are managing in their life and build flexibility into your course where possible and appropriate.

Our Niagara College students have diverse lived experiences and are balancing many other responsibilities in their life including personal, professional, and family responsibilities. By acknowledging this for your students, they may feel more comfortable asking for help or an extension when they need it.

Reach out individually and use the Salesforce alert system when you have concerns about a student’s academic performance.

All students at Niagara College have access to an Academic Advisor and academic advising services. If you are worried about the academic performance of one of your students, you may wish to encourage them to connect with their academic advisor. Additionally, you can alert a student’s academic advisor about your concerns through the Salesforce Faculty Update form (available in My Apps on the NC Portal page) to notify academic advisors of students who may be experiencing academic challenges.