Write Clearly

As you are revising and translating your content for online use, carefully review the content, particularly instructions. Have others—even previous students perhaps—read your materials to see whether they are ambiguous. Too often you know what you mean, but you know your material so well that's it's easy to overlook things that aren't clear.

In an ideal world the sent and received messages would be the same, but anyone who has ever played "the telephone game" where the first message to be whispered usually turns out to be something completely different by the time it is reported aloud by the last player know that messages are easily skewed. But, you say, it's different when it's an online course and it's right there in black and white. Words don't lie. I write what I mean, and the students just don't seem to get it.

Am I Sending Mixed Messages?

(please note: audio may not play on all devices/browsers)

• Example One

  As an online instructor, assume that you address a potential cheating problem by including the following instruction in the exam.

  This "open-book" test has a time limit of 2 hours. You may consult your text or any notes you may have taken in class. Your test will auto-submit at the end of the 2-hour window; make sure you don't lose track of time.

  You have also always included, as the last item in any test, this one:

  I have neither given nor received help on this test. Yes / No

  Let's listen in on two students who have reached that final question and see what they're thinking:

  Student One

  Student Two

  And you thought your last test item was perfectly clear, didn't you?

• Example Two

  How about this one? You include this statement in your syllabus:

  All academic work will be done by the individual student without any outside aid. Infractions may be submitted to the dean of students with penalties ranging from failure of the assignment to expulsion from the university.

  The instructions for the third assignment in your course are these:

  Working in groups of 5 (your choice), develop a needs assessment survey and an implementation plan for administering it. Present your survey and plan to the class in the discussion forum.

  Are students to work alone or are they to work in a group?

• Example Three

  Notice the details in this example for an online test. Remember, in an online classroom, you will not be there to give these instructions and address questions before the students begin. Testing causes anxiety in many students; when you couple that with being online and the possibility of technology glitches, anxiety increases, so you will want to provide plenty of information up-front.

  This test is due by Thursday, February 23, 11:59 p.m. You have two hours to complete the test. The timer will begin the first time you access the test even if you choose not to submit it during that session. It will auto-submit at the end of two hours after the first time you accessed it. Late submissions are not allowed. If you do not complete the test by the due date/time, you will be unable to do so and any unsaved or unanswered responses will be scored a zero. Continuing to access this test will constitute your agreement and understanding of these statements. If you encounter any technical issues, you are to (1) contact the technology support, report the situation, and obtain an incident number, and (2) text me immediately, providing the details and the documented incident number. I will respond with further instructions within 10 minutes.

• Example Four

  These are instructions for a written assignment. Notice that it clearly differentiates between work that you allow to be done collaboratively and the work that you expect students to perform individually without assistance.

  You may collaborate with others and ask questions as you develop your rough draft including asking for peer reviews. The final paper you submit for a grade must be in your own words with the exception of any resources you use from your research. Any ideas or words including those found in illustrations, graphics, tables, figures, etc., that you use in your paper must be referenced and the complete citation included in the reference list. If the words used are verbatim (exact), they must be presented as quotes (either contained in quotation marks or set off as a block quote).

From Expert to Novice

Nurses learned a lot from Patricia Benner's Novice to Expert work. What professionals often find it difficult to do is to step back from their expert reasoning and to put themselves in the place of learners who are just beginning to learn a skill or concept. When you plan what to include and how detailed to make your content, you may find it is difficult to remember what all you "didn't used to know" and how your thinking has evolved as you moved into the sphere of "thinking like a professional nurse." Here's an example:

As a healthcare professional, you never considered the fact that a student might choose to have a "ghost writer" during a clinical debriefing. You don't think like a beginner. As a practicing healthcare professional you are aware of the implications of patient confidentiality and HIPAA; as an educator you equate an online chat to a classroom discussion where no one but enrolled students were present.

In considering your online content, you may choose to provide instructions to learners on confidentiality, professionalism, ethics, and standards of conduct. Not only is this an opportunity for you to identify your expectations for the participants in the course, it is an excellent opportunity for you to practice writing clearly.

Activity

Reflect on these examples and review instructions in your course. Choose one or two and re-write to clarify. Find someone (a student, perhaps) to read your instructions without any verbal explanation from you; did they interpret them as you intended? If not, use this as an opportunity to fine-tune your writing.

Next, let's explore some activities issues—how to move activities online while still meeting learning outcomes.