Online Communication

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Communicating clearly through writing is a valuable skill. Most communication in an online course is written. Even if you can talk to your instructor in person or by telephone, you will also likely have to write e-mail and discussion messages. Here are some suggestions to help you communicate effectively online.

E-mail

Include a relevant subject line.
The subject line should summarize the message. Your instructor may require specific subject line guidelines such as course name and module number to aid in sorting messages from different courses (e.g., SOWK 100 Mod3 or SOWK 100 Assign 3).

Review your message before your send it.
Does the message say what you want it to? Short, clear sentences communicate more effectively than long, convoluted ones. Be direct.

Refer to previous communication.
If you are including a reference to a previous e-mail, include the section(s) that you are specifically discussing or just refer to the specific point without including the original e-mail text. Messages that include the text from one or more previous messages are long and difficult to read. Delete unnecessary text when you reply to a previous message.

If your message is part of an ongoing discussion, use specific references such as the date and sender of the message to help your readers follow the discussion. Other readers may receive messages out of order and will not automatically know to which message you are responding.

Check your spelling.
E-mails are informal mode of communication and do not require perfect spelling. However, spelling errors can make it difficult to understand your message. If necessary, write the body of your e-mail message using a word processor and spell check it before copying and pasting it into your e-mail program.

Do you expect a reply?
If you expect a reply, say so in your message, particularly if you want a reply by a specific time or date.

Be aware of the possibility of misunderstandings.
Your reader may not notice that you are using humour, sarcasm, or irony in your message. You can use cues like emoticons ;-), or sub-text comments (hee, hee or wink, wink), or lol (for laugh out loud), but your best communication tool is clear, direct language.

Use e-mail etiquette.
Don't use all capitals - it comes across as YELLING! If you are offended by a message, try to clarify the intention of the sender before you respond in anger. You don't need to agree with everything your instructor or classmates say, but disagreement doesn't have to lead to flaming - insults and provocative comments that attack the sender rather than responding to the comments.

Discussions

Follow your instructor's guidelines for discussions.
Your instructor may have specific guidelines for discussions, such as two contributions per week, or may want you to respond to course readings or assignments. The instructor may specify her or his expectations in the course syllabus or welcoming message.

Make sure you are responding to the correct discussion thread.
Your instructor may set up separate discussion threads for different topics. Make sure you are sending a message to the appropriate discussion.

Some ways to get involved in an online discussion:

• Ask a question.
  
  
• Respond to another person's question.
  
  
• Comment on what has already been said.
  
  
• Think of comments that you want to make and write them down when you are reading course material. Then when you go to the discussion area, you can use your notes to make a contribution to the discussion.
  
  
• Provide more information about the topic under discussion from personal experience or other reading sources.
  
  
• Provide an interesting resource you have found related to the topic, such as a website or journal article.