Course etiquette

This course is a free and open course to anyone who is interested in participating. It is expected that all participants will treat one another with respect.

Online courses can be difficult to navigate socially at times, so the following guide is what is widely considered good etiquette to follow on the discussion forum:

• Firstly, participate! This is a shared learning environment and your contributions matter - for maximum benefit to all course participants, ensure that you’re using and posting in the forum.
• When you’re preparing your posts, review the requirements from the course page to ensure that your post is aligned with the expectation of the discussion topic and ensure that you’re posting under the correct channel.
• Keep your posts and replies concise and to the point - reading other’s comments can take time and so ensure that there are no ‘extra’ bits in your posts.
• Check previous posts before posting yourself to avoid repetition.
• Cite your sources - if you’re referencing books, journal articles (or anyone’s intellectual property), ensure that you’re citing it.
• Use respectful language - criticism must be clear, constructive and well-meaning. Reading your post outloud before posting it might be a good way to check your tone. On this note, please don’t use ALL CAPS - IT IS ALARMING TO READ and think about the way punctuation like exclamation marks can come across.
• Please report anything that isn’t working - this is a new forum and may have bugs.

Online meeting platform etiquette for the live trials of the course: for the live components of the course, such as the welcome event or virtual coworking spaces, we will use Zoom or Google Meets. Here are some tips on online meeting platform etiquette:

• When you sign into Zoom or Google Meets, ensure that you turn your microphone off until you want to speak. If you want to speak, there is a hand-raise function on Zoom or you can physically raise your hand as well.
• Make sure that you are in a quiet space without distracting background noises (if possible).
• Keep your video on as much as you can, although I recognise that’s not always possible.
• The gallery display option on both Zoom and Google Meets allows you to see everyone, instead of just the person speaking.
• If you are experiencing technical difficulties, try turning off and closing other applications on your computer.
• Be mindful of where you are sitting - if you are in front of a window, it may produce too much glare to see you well and can be distracting for others.
• Don’t record the meeting unless you have permission to do so. This would only be possible if you are the host or co-host but is still worth saying.
• There is a chat function if you want to ask questions or make comments silently - you can choose if you want to send this to everyone in the group or individual participants.
• The virtual coworking sessions will work slightly differently, where it’s meant to be more informal for individuals to come and go and strike up conversations as they wish.

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