A sense of belonging and feeling like a part of a community is vital for the success of our students. One of the ways to build that sense of community is to help everyone get to know each other through introductory posts.

There are several ways to do this kind of assignment, but one example is to have the students introduce themselves on a discussion board thread.

It’s sometimes hard to think of ways to describe yourself so adding some prompts to get them started might be a good idea.

  • What is your major?
  • What are your future career goals?
  • One thing you hope to learn in this class.
  • Do you have any pets?
  • What are your hobbies?
  • Tell me one unusual thing about yourself.

This gives them a springboard to get started on the post instead of a blank canvas, which can make some students uncomfortable.

It might be useful to have a picture of the student as well for help in identifying them.