Digiteen

Respect others and their opinions. In online learning students from various backgrounds come together to learn. It is important to respect their feelings and opinions though they may differ from your own.Consider others’ privacy. Ask for permission if you want to forward someone’s email messages to third parties. Keep in mind that all private email mail is considered copyrighted by the original author. Pick the right tone. Since we depend on the written word in online learning, it is especially important to choose the right words to get your meaning across. For example, sarcasm is harder to detect when you read the words rather than hearing them.Avoid inappropriate material. Distribution of pornographic material will result in disciplinary action.Be forgiving. If someone states something that you find offensive, mention this directly to the instructor. Remember that the person contributing to the discussion might be new to this form of communication. What you find offensive may quite possibly have been unintended and can best be cleared up by the instructor.Think before you hit the send button. Think carefully about the content of your message before contributing it. Once sent to the group there is no taking it back. Grammar and spelling errors reflect on you and your audience might not be able to decode misspelled words or poorly constructed sentences.Brevity is best. Be as concise as possible when contributing to a discussion. Your points might me missed if hidden in a flood of text.Stick to the point. Contributions to a discussion should stick to the subject. Don’t waste others' time by going off on irrelevant tangents.Do not type in all caps. Typing in caps is considered shouting or screaming online. Various studies on the topic reflect that it is more difficult and takes longer to read text that is typed in all caps. Frivolous email. Don’t forward jokes, "chain letter's" or unimportant email to other students without their permission. Not only does it fill up their mailboxes but may offend people who do not share the same sense of humor or who are tired of these types of email.

1. Avoid language that may come across as strong or offensive. Language can be easily misinterpreted in written communication. If a point must be stressed, review the statement to make sure that an outsider reading it would not be offended, then post the statement. Humor and sarcasm may easily be misinterpreted as well, so try to be as matter-of-fact and professional as possible.2. Keep writing to a point and stay on topic. Online courses require a lot of reading. When writing, keep sentences poignant and brief so that readers do not get lost in wordy paragraphs and miss the point of the statement. Also, do not introduce new topics; it may just confuse the readers.3. Read first, write later. It is important to read all posts or comments of students and instructors within the course discussion before personally commenting to prevent repeating commentary or asking questions that have already been answered.4. Review, review, then send. There’s no taking back a comment that has already been sent, so it is important to double-check all writing to make sure that it clearly conveys the exact intended message.5. An online classroom is still a classroom. Though the courses may be online, appropriate classroom behavior is still mandatory. Respect for fellow classmates and the instructors is as important as ever.6. The language of the Internet. Though still a fairly young type of communication, certain aspects of this form of communication are becoming conventional. For example, do not write using all capital letters, because it will appear as shouting. Also, the use of emoticons can be helpful when used to convey nonverbal feelings (example: :-) or :-( ), but avoid overusing them.7. Consider the privacy of others'. Ask permission prior to giving out a classmate's email address or other information.8. If possible, keep attachments small. If it is necessary to send pictures, change the size to an acceptable 100k.9. No inappropriate material. Do not forward virus warnings, chain letters, jokes, etc. to classmates or instructors. The sharing of pornographic material is forbidden.

Do Don't Be clear in your communications Use appropriate respectful language Be brief Make a good impression Be selective in what you write Be forginving of others mistakes (e.g. spelling, grammar, etc.) Ask permission before forwarding emails/discussion postings Obey copyright laws Cite others work if you use it in your communitations Remember you are not anonymous Be respectful of others Respect the privacy of others Read all postings first, write later Keep attachments small Be positive No SPAM DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS No flames or personal attacks Don't be rude with others No name calling Don't be arrogant Don't be disruptive to others communications No SPAM, chain letters, pornography No plagiarizing others work

5 safety tips for using a public computer

Don't save your logon information

Don't leave the computer unattended with sensitive information on the screen