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*** Ethics, Plagiarizing, & Cheating Access Statement for Students with Disabilities
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Dalton State College Division of Social Sciences *** Ten Points of Netiquette By Hassan A. El-Najjar
Teaching
and learning courses online brought
with it a set of new norms, which can be called internet etiquette, or
netiquette. Here are some of them:
1. Online courses require more computer and internet skills than regular courses. Therefore, for best results students need to be knowledgeable of these skills or at least willing to learn them from classmates and instructors. 2. Online course instructors are more facilitators of learning than teachers, in the traditional sense. Therefore, more autonomy is expected on the side of students; and more facilitation and guidance to learning than teaching on the side of instructors. 3. A lot of student-student and student-instructor communication is expected in online courses. Therefore, email messages and discussions should be brief and to the point; otherwise, they may be counterproductive. 4. Any course syllabus is expected to be detailed and accurate enough to cover all areas of a course and to answer any potential questions from students. Therefore, students are expected to read syllabi carefully before they write to instructors asking about such issues as evaluation, tests, test dates, etc., which are usually stated clearly in an online syllabus. 5. Online classes constitute secondary groups, in the sociological sense. This means that communication should be formal. Email messages and discussions should be conducted with due respect to everybody in the group, particularly when expressing different viewpoints. 6. Offensive and obscene language or symbols should not be used. It is harassment, to say the least, and it is counterproductive to the learning process. 7. Treat all others online with courtesy and due respect, as if you're interacting with them in a face-to-face classroom setting. 8. Always remember that anything you write online cannot be erased or taken back once sent, it will be seen by many people and saved in many places. 9. A respectful and courteous atmosphere contributes to the success of the online learning process. It encourages people to be forthcoming with their questions and input without fear of being insulted or hurt. 10. Netiquette is the highest and most refined form of etiquette because you don't see the person you're interacting with and paying respect to. You're following it because it is nice to do so, irrelevant of who is at the recipient end.
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