Netiquette for Online Courses Learner Description: This netiquette page has been created for high-school students who participate in online courses and all participants in the online courses delivered by our organization need to observe the netiquette rules.
What is Netiquette?
You all have heard and certainly apply some rules of etiquette in your interaction with others. But what does Netiquette refer to? "Netiquette stands for Internet Etiquette, and refers to the set of practices created over the years to make the Internet experience pleasant for everyone. Like other forms of etiquette, netiquette is primarily concerned with matters of courtesy in communications." (source: http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ia_nq.htm)
Our Discussion Forums.
Every week in our course we will participate in discussions to share our understanding and ideas. As an international online learning community we need to respect each other and be open-minded to peer's opinions. In order to show respect to your peers, you should think carefully before you write a comment in response to a peer so that you do not hurt someone's feeling. You also should check your spelling and grammar before posting a comment and avoid using abbreviations. If you feel angry by someone's post, wait for a while before answering.
Effective E-mail/Pager Communication
The pager and the e-mail tool are our main means of communication in the course. Again, think twice before you click the "send" button. Reread your message and make sure that it is clear and concise. If you are emailing about an assignment issue, write the title of the assignment and describe the issue clearly. Address the receiver in the same way in which you would address a teacher, a peer or a visitor in your school. Do not forget to write "thank you" and "please". Be careful about joking and ask for clarification as quickly as possible.
Responsible Blogging
We will use blogging mainly for comments on news articles and comments on peers' Internal Assessment outlines. Be respectful in your comments on your peers' blogs. Avoid slang. Be tactful and considerate, as helpful as possible in your effort to help a peer improve and correct a misunderstanding of a theory. Remember: we are all learning a new subject and there is a chance that someone may have difficulties understanding a concept. You may be at the same situation in the future so show tact and respect.
Be Friendly and Polite
Be friendly in your communication to peers and teachers at all times. Avoid capitalization of words and sentences as this equals shouting and nobody likes to be shouted at. Being polite is as important in online communication as it is in face-to-face communication.