| Created through a collaboration among OpenAI, Melissa Vervinck, and Jeremy Bond.
Because sometimes the best way to deliver reminders is with a little humor, this list was inspired by the iconic Top Ten format made famous by David Letterman.
#10 🧭 Assume their students know where they’re going? Don’t.
Post a course roadmap. GPS is great, but it won’t help them find your Week 1 discussion board.
#9 📸 Show their face. Yes, that one.
A short welcome video goes a long way. Canvas Studio can make this a breeze, even without a professional hair and makeup team. Bonus points if your cat walks through the background.
#8 📅 Due dates are not a scavenger hunt.
Highlight key deadlines in your announcements or weekly overviews. If students are missing deadlines by literally missing deadlines, it’s time to draw more attention to timelines.
#7 📬 Check their inbox like it is office hours.
Students will email you. Often. At 2 a.m. Be ready—or set expectations so no one wonders about your response time.
#6 🧠 Explain the ‘why,’ not just the ‘what.’
Graduate students want to know how assignments connect to other assignments, learning, and their future careers, not just that work is due on Sundays.
#5 🧩 Connect the dots between modules.
Help students understand how each week builds on the last. A quick note such as “This week builds on last week’s discussion of X” can helps demonstrate the course’s cohesion.
#4 🧙 Remember that students have wizard-level powers for finding what’s broken, before you do.
That one outdated link buried in Week 7? A student will find it in Week 1. It’s like they have a radar for chaos. Check everything before they do.
#3 🎯 Spell out what ‘good work’ looks like.
Rubrics aren’t just for accreditation, they’re for sanity. Yours and theirs. Remind students that rubrics exist and will be used to evaluate their work.
#2 🍽️ Set the table AND join the meal.
You’ve laid out the content, but students want to know you’re at the table too. Jump into the conversation, ask follow-up questions, and show them you’re learning with them.
And the #1 Thing (Some) Online Instructors Forget to Do (But Really Should) to Start a Course Off Right
🥳 Celebrate the start!
Kick things off with energy. A welcome message, a fun icebreaker, or a meme can make your course feel like a community, not a chore.
💡 Want even more ideas (minus the jokes)?
For a more comprehensive (and slightly less entertaining) list of things to check before your course goes live, be sure to look for the email from Online Learning that goes out before each term, semester, or trimester. It’s packed with practical reminders and helpful tips to get your course off to a smooth start, even if it doesn’t come with emojis or punchlines. If you just can’t wait, check out the Instructional Support Materials provided by Online Learning via our SharePoint site.
Reference
OpenAI, Vervinck, M., & Bond. J. (2025). Top ten things (some) online instructors forget to do (but really should). Microsoft Copilot. https://copilot.microsoft.com |
