Once you get to know a new location you may find that the timing is different than where you came from. It may be a slower pace or it may be a faster pace. Given that you are here to do more than just look around, the timing of the course is very important to assure that you and the students are moving together to reach your goals. As a facilitator of the course the timing will be set by you and monitored to keep the group together.
Timelines
Pay careful attention to the timelines of the course.
There is balance to respecting the working schedule of the student and
the need to keep the students motivated and working together. Most students
taking online courses assume that there will not be a scheduled meeting
during the week. It is also unlikely that all students will be working
on the same thing on any given day of the week. However, the course should
be organized into units, sections or weeks of a pre-determined length.
All activities start during that period of time and must be completed during
that period of time.
Most students will stay on track better if they have goals laid out for them according to the time table of the course. Knowing what needs to be accomplished for that week will help students budget their time. This does not mean assignments cannot be for multiple weeks or even the entire length of the course. If students seem to miss deadlines and milestones in a face to face class, count on them missing what is due when in an online class. Frequent reminders of where people should be and what is coming up keeps everyone one task.
Threaded discussion can only be functional if all members are participating during a give window of opportunity. Discussions should open at a specific time and close at a given time. A learner should be able to back a see what took place in a previous discussion but no credit is given after the discussion closes. Students posting in discussions early or late defeat the purpose of the discussion and do not contribute to a sense of community.