FirstClass primer for CMC courses

by Kathryn Cook, © March 2000

• Introduction
• Distance learning framework for this primer
• Why use FirstClass for distance learning?
• Supporting students using FirstClass
• Managing FirstClass for your learners
• Using FirstClass to give students freedom
• References

Students new to computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments often struggle without the usual context of a classroom and teacher. But at the same time educators recognize this struggle can help move students forward in becoming more self-directed learners. It seems that overcoming the initial resistance and obstacles students face in CMC courses is worth the effort if students develop their ability to become life-long learners. It is possible that students learn how to become life-long learners in CMC courses because the nature of the CMC learning environment shifts control from teachers to students. But how do educators help students be in control of their own learning?

The FirstClass primer is based on a constructivist framework for giving distance learners control of their own learning processes; the framework was originally conceived by Garrison & Baynton (1987). The distance learning (DL) model is that there needs to be a balance between the learner’s attributes, support, and freedom in order for learners to feel in control of their own learning. For example, students new to CMC courses will need more support and less freedom – too much freedom at this stage and students will flounder and feel overwhelmed. But as learners gain skills in online learning more freedom will empower students -- less support is required and students will enjoy being given choice. Learners who are already life-long learners will be more satisfied with greater amounts of freedom; learners who have little experience being self-directed will need more direction from the teacher – more support. The means for negotiating this triad is the interaction or communication with teachers, with students, with the course content and with the user-interface. This is why the user-interface must allow communication to be at the heart of the course. Here is a graphical representation of the DL model:

Every user-interface has an implicit pedagogy, and FirstClass allows for the full range of interaction necessary for learner control. Other “school in a box” software packages used to develop online courses are really course management tools rather than communication tools. The curriculum is often driven by these “one size fits all” approaches to online learning. This has initial appeal due to the ease of developing an online course, but learners become isolated when student-student interaction is impractical. Without the motivation of belonging to a community and support of peers, learners will require far more discipline in order to succeed.

FirstClass is the best communications tool for distance education. And learning to use FirstClass is an important aspect of CMC courses because learners who cannot interact successfully with the user-interface (FirstClass) will be held back regardless of their proficiency in other areas. For example, a student who has difficulty navigating folders and sub-conferences in FirstClass may miss vital instructions. The learner must devote mental resources to using the conferencing interface, and the mental resources used could detract from the effort expended on course content. Students new to CMC distance education are really taking two courses - one that teaches the content and the other teaches the user-interface. Using the DL model, teachers can help learners control their own learning processes in CMC courses by fashioning the user-interface -- FirstClass -- to support students, give freedom of choice and foster learners’ personal development and positive attitudes.

1. Create a non-threatening atmosphere.
• Humor can really help – drag and drop jokes to a special folder or create a jokes sub-conference. With a jokes sub-conference students may contribute their own material; if the teacher wishes to control the content, the Approve items conference permission should be given to teachers. Alternatively, moving messages containing jokes to a special Folder can also give the teacher control of the content; this is done by giving teachers Controller permission on the conference Permissions form, while students have Contributor status.
• Use FirstClass Résumés as an ice-breaker activity in the first weeks of an online course. Ask students to complete their FirstClass Résumés found under File à Open à Résumé, or Ctrl + 5 are the hot keys. Include in the Résumés the answer to a simple question, for example, what is your favorite color? Then ask students to find someone in the class who has the same favorite color, and send their discovery to a class conference.
2. Actively promote students helping peers.
• Make a public Chat file in your course conference; this gives students another means to communicate and get acquainted. Students will know when their peers are chatting by the appearance of a red balloon on the Chat file icon.
3. Quickly resolve online incivility.
• Move flames to a private forum ASAP – drag the public messages to a folder on the teacher’s Desktop. Teachers will need these FirstClass (FC) permissions in order to move (drag and drop) or delete messages created by another user: Controller or Delete any item.
4. Describe the social rules – netiquette -- of computer conferencing.
• Do not forward private mail without the creator’s consent. Show students how message History alerts users to this practice. Message History can be found under the Message menu or by Ctrl + H hotkeys.
• Teachers should invite online guests publicly so students are not victims of electronic eavesdropping; making message History explicit for students sends a signal that your CMC environment is above board and respects students’ privacy.
5. Create a sub-conference for teacher-only authored messages.
• Give students Reader only permission level to keep the teacher’s conference uncluttered. Students will not be able to contribute messages to this conference, but they can read the teacher’s messages.
• Keep a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file as a FirstClass document; use Summarize Selected to help create and update this file. Summarizing Selected Messages is found under the Conferencing menu. Use the Control key to help you select items that are not sequential, and the Shift key to select many items at once. If you’ve selected a large number of messages, a red line at the top of the Summarizing Selected window shows users the progress of the summarizing task.
• Authorities recommend having only one location as the exclusive source for information – this way students always know where to go for help.
6. Use FirstClass protocol links (FCP://) to help point students toward a FirstClass message or document.
• This is an effective method for teaching FirstClass conference navigation because the FCP:// link will automatically open an item buried many levels deep in the conferencing structure; it’s a way of showing students how to navigate sub-conferences and sub-folders.
• To make a FCP:// link, simply drag and drop the selected message into a new message window. Or you can select the item and choose Add to Bookmarks from the Conference menu. A dialog box appears showing the URL of the item. Click on the Advanced tab to make sure the Bookmark is a public URL. This URL can be copied and pasted into a FirstClass message or document.
7. Develop a system for saving messages and keeping an archive.
• Create new folders and sub-folders in your Mailbox, and save all course related items – save everything. Showing your students how to do this gives them guidance on managing their Mailbox and underscores the importance of saving course-related messages.
• Use the Summarize Selected Messages menu to archive messages; save the text by pasting it into a FirstClass Document. Saving the text in a FirstClass Document preserves any formatting, and unlike mail messages, Documents usually do not auto-expire and therefore risk deletion from the FirstClass server.
• Save steps by creating a personal Conference for archiving marked work; send students your marks with a Bcc: to your personal archive conference. This eliminates having to drag messages into a special folder after you’ve finished marking.
• Students value instructional examples from previous semesters – use the Summarize Selected feature to store samples as a FirstClass Document.
8. CMC teachers contribute about ten percent to online discussions, compared to eighty percent in face-to-face classes. Less frequent teacher contributions shifts control to the students.
• One option is for the teacher to not take part at all in student discussions, and give students private feedback on their contributions 2 or 3 times during the term using the Summarize Selected Messages feature.
9. Voice attachments humanize the CMC environment and make the CMC experience more fulfilling for students.
• Assuming your computer has a microphone and is capable of sound recording, simply click the Insert Voice icon in any new message window to attach a Voice message.

1. Reduce information overload for newcomers by keeping the class conference structure lean the first week -- one welcome message may be enough.
• Gradually build new sub-conferences and folders as the weeks progress – teachers need Create conference privilege to do this.
• Alternatively, teachers can give students a preview of what’s coming by using the Approve feature. Create your sub-conferences and folders in advance, select them, and click Approve from the Conferencing menu; the sub-conference or folder will appear italicized and students will not be permitted to open them until the teacher unapproves the item.
2. Emphasize the importance of the subject line and take advantage of message threading in FC.
• A new thread is automatically created in FC by typing a new subject line – this reinforces its importance as an advance organizer for students.
3. Teach navigational strategies.
• Use FirstClass Bookmarks to aid navigation.
• Export your Bookmarks by selecting All and dragging to a new document window – now you have a "quick list" for easy copying of links into new messages.
4. Student's prior learning can be an obstacle.
• Students with knowledge of other e-mail systems may have to adjust their mental model for FirstClass conferencing. The idea of a shared message space – a conference – is not easy to grasp at first.
5. To improve reading comprehension, which is so important in CMC, write clear concise directions in uncluttered FC documents.
• Unlike messages, FirstClass documents do not expire, are less cluttered because they lack the header of a FC message, and yet can still contain all of the text formatting possible in a FC message. Furthermore, FC documents retain their formatting when published on the web without adding HTML tags.
• But keep in mind that FirstClass is best used as a communications tool, not just as a content delivery tool.
• NB – FirstClass Documents do not track Message History.
6. Allocate some course time to teaching the mechanics of FirstClass conferencing and the client-server architecture.
• Students new to CMC courses are really taking two courses – one is the course content and the other is learning to use the user-interface. Recognize that some of the student’s mental resources must be devoted to learning the user-interface if the student is to successfully navigate FirstClass.
• It’s been shown that with a correct mental model of computer networked systems, students are less likely to get lost and more likely to learn.
7. Students who login more often are less likely to experience information overload, and more likely to achieve a higher mark.
• Use Message History to get a picture of the consistency of a student’s logins.
8. Create assignments that require early and repeated use of FirstClass features to help build the correct mental model.
• A FirstClass quiz can motivate students to learn the system.
• Respond to any spelling errors in class conferences with Auto Spell-check directions found under Edit à Preferences à Content.
• Give credit for using Reply with Quote in online discussions – this encourages students to build on each other’s contributions.

1. Calendar Reminders can serve as a pacing device without adding to the student’s perception of teacher control.
2. Set a minimum quantity of messages, but explain that quantity is not equal to quality.
• Message size limits can be set in FC conferences to ensure concise contributions.
3. Since regular active participation is the key to student success in CMC courses, send private mail to contact students who are behind, who are not logging in regularly or who have a particular problem.
• Address the private mailing To: the teacher (yourself) and Bcc: the students who are in trouble, so that any replies automatically return confidentially to the teacher.
• Individual User Forms, Message History, Search and Message Receipts are all ways to help track student participation in FC.
4. Explain Conference Permissions and how they can be customized in FC to ensure privacy for participants in a certain privilege group.
• But warn students that even Private Mail can be read by some, and the security of your messages in an electronic environment is never totally guaranteed.
5. Describe how to Unsend and Undelete -- error recovery gives the learner control.
• To Unsend a message, select the sent mail in your Mailbox and choose Unsend from the Message menu, or click on the Unsend icon.
• To Undelete a message, choose Show Deleted Items from the View menu. When the deleted messages are visible, select the message you want to undelete, and choose Undelete from the File menu.
6. Teachers can use Auto-open or make Urgent messages to call attention to important items.
• But don't overuse or this technique will lose its impact.
7. Teach how to Edit à Preferences -- especially Spell check on Send, Signatures, and Document Editing.
8. Show how to change View Properties – this gives learners display control and may uncover navigation problems.
9. Message Receipt on Read helps teachers follow at-risk students.
10. Teach students to Search for their own name -- track their own progress.
• Searching for and Summarizing all messages involving a particular student is also a way to demonstrate to students their progress to date.
11. Summarizing Selected messages is more than an archiving tool.
• Use as a writing reflection tool for students’ essays.
• Teachers should produce summaries periodically to give feedback on what was valuable from student postings.
12. Login using a web browser and other e-mail clients as well as the FC client.
• Just knowing you can login without the FC client helps students see the model of client-server functions.
• Netscape Mail, Outlook Express, and Eudora are some examples of other mail clients that can be used with a FC server.
13. Auto-Registration is a feature that might be useful in certain educational settings, for example, a non-credit online training tutorial for working adults.
14. Give students a Homepage folder – publishing a web page is a creative outlet and personal accomplishment.
• It's easy to publish a FC web page (see Help or the PDF file).
• By putting FirstClass documents in your Home Page folder, there’s no need to learn HTML.
• Any FC item in a folder or conference named Home Page will be rendered like index.html when viewed by a web browser.

References