
Please don’t take advantage of your connection with the other students in your online classroom to forward emails and links regarding your political/spiritual beliefs or to sell your services. With this in mind, review what you wrote before contributing to the conversation and ask yourself, “Will everyone get the joke?” In contrast, your online classroom is made up of people of all ages and cultures who have varied backgrounds, lifestyles and geographic locations. Sarcasm and wit is often the spice of in-person conversation, but in online discussion, it can not only lose its edge, it can bite! In your high school classroom, all students were the same age, came from similar backgrounds and lived in the same area.

When you’re working online, you’re safe behind a screen, but that’s no excuse to be ill-mannered or say things you would never say in public.

Here are 10 rules of netiquette that will help you successfully communicate as you learn online. But how do you express yourself online, where the written word is all they see?ĭuring your online degree program, you will frequently be asked to participate in online discussions and will occasionally do peer reviews of your classmates’ work. In the classroom, your words, gestures, posture and facial expressions communicate your thoughts and observations to your classmates and teachers.

The rules for online learning and classroom learning are virtually the same: You have to study, take notes, attend classes and participate in discussions. Netiquette, which is a portmanteau of “net” and “etiquette,” refers to using courtesy and politeness when communicating with others online. Effective communication is key to success in online education, and that’s where the term “netiquette” comes in.
