Rule 4: Make yourself look good online

When online, it is important to remember that you also want to represent yourself well. This is especially important as everything put out online can be considered a permanent post. Therefore, it is important to keep the following in mind:

At the very least, make sure you are using correct grammar and spelling.

Remember to make sure your post is coherent and relevant to the subject matter.

• Lastly, make sure you are polite and friendly in your responses to other students/peers. Remembering this rule will help to keep any “flame wars” from occurring.

Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Scenerio 1

You notice that one of your fellow students has responded to one of your posts. Do you feel they have represented themselves well? “I personally dont agree with you. Youre “analysis” of the paper doesn’t contain any clear ideas for how to overcome the common obsticles. What are your plans for the weekend?”

 

Yes- This student’s response was friendly in nature, was free of grammar and spelling errors, and was logical in its flow.

No - The student’s response was very rude and did not provide any clear reasonings for why the student didn’t agree. In addition, the response had spelling errors.

Scenerio 2

Another student also responded to your post. Do you feel this person represented themselves well? “Thank you for your post! While I personally do not agree with your analysis of the paper, I can see your point. For me, I feel that the author should have switched the order of the steps. What are your thoughts?”

 

Yes- The student was well represented. The post contained zero grammatical and spelling errors, and was friendly in nature.

No - The student was not well represented in this post.

---