Faculty Focus is an online newsletter and website that is dedicated to higher education and instructors like you! They publish articles on effective teaching strategies for online and university and college classrooms.
Their latest article, A Four-Step Plan: The First Day of Class on Zoom, written by Crystal Wong, EdD shares some great insights that may assist with your online teaching.
Creating a vibrant community is always on my mind, so the very first thing I do on the first day of class is pass around a tray of cookies and ask students to talk about their favorite type of cookie. Immediately, the room is filled with surprise, smiles, and chatter. That is why I was stumped when a colleague asked, “What do we do on the first day of class on Zoom?” My impulse was to think about replicating those successful first-day activities, but what works face-to-face doesn’t necessarily translate well online. So, what should we do? To answer my colleague’s question, I write this article.