
In the classroom, your words, gestures, posture and facial expressions communicate your thoughts and observations to your classmates and teachers. The rules for online learning and classroom learning are virtually the same: You have to study, take notes, attend classes and participate in discussions. Netiquette, which is a portmanteau of “net” and “etiquette,” refers to using courtesy and politeness when communicating with others online. Setting expectations regarding appropriate behavior and fairly enforcing these expectations isn’t a formality it’s a way of ensuring that the online classroom is a safe place to exchange ideas and opinions.Effective communication is key to success in online education, and that’s where the term “netiquette” comes in. By distracting individuals from the quality of education itself, the classroom as a whole suffers. If a student is ridiculed for his or her ideas, communication style, or other qualities, it’s likely that he or she will shy away from sharing again. This isn’t just good netiquette it’s the law.Īlthough good netiquette is important to the success of online interactions, it’s important to note that bad netiquette has some major implications, too. Student work can’t be shared without permission, nor can personal information about your students.

In these communications, it’s also important to remember student privacy.
#USING PROPER NETIQUETTE MEANS PROFESSIONAL#
This helps convey a professional image, which can be important when interacting with students you might not see. In addition, when replying to students’ messages, it’s critical that one do so in both a timely manner and with the inclusion of a professional signature line. E-mails, LMS messages, discussion forums, and assignment feedback should all follow standard netiquette rules. Netiquette isn’t limited to formal student–student or instructor–student interactions either-it shows up in any online interaction. Maintaining a willingness to protect not only opinions, but individuals, is a critical component of the online classroom. Although it’s exciting to discuss a topic that means a lot to you, it’s important to remember that the classroom is an academic environment and that, as an instructor, it’s your role to ensure that all students feel comfortable expressing their opinions.



Although what is included in a netiquette statement isn’t always up to the individual instructor, there are a few guiding principles that can be employed to ensure civility: Due to the physical separation of participants in an online classroom as well as the varying experience of individuals in this environment, there are behaviors that can occur that lessen the likelihood of a healthy online learning community developing. Netiquette, short for network or internet etiquette, is a set of social conventions that define what is and is not appropriate behavior in the online environment. Although this will look different from school to school or classroom to classroom, the foundation of this is built on a carefully crafted netiquette statement. By doing so, the classroom environment becomes open to respectful discourse and conducive to learning and collaboration in a way that encourages all students, regardless of background or opinion, to share and develop as a community of learners. In the online classroom, it’s important that instructors set and enforce parameters around what is and is not appropriate behavior.
