Students paying it forward

How will students know what to expect in your online writing course (OWC)? How will they know what they have to do to succeed?

Let them hear from students past.

While I have many activities and instructions early in the term to help my students understand what they need to do to do well in our course, I began to realize that perhaps the best way for them to understand what the class would be like would be to hear from those who had already done it! (1)

So, at the end of the term, I offer students this discussion board extra credit opportunity:

SUBJ: Advice for extra credit
Hi all,
Some of you have asked about a little extra credit. There's so much work--and so many grades!--in the course, plus you get extra credit for high-level participation on the Discussions--which many of you have earned--that I'm always reluctant to give other extra credit.

However, in the spirit of the final week, let's do this: If you can write a succinct, one-sentence piece of advice that you would provide to a student in a future iteration of Prof. Warnock's online English 102 course, I will provide you with a little extra credit.
Curious to see these,
ProfW

In response, they give smart, focused advice to future students.

For instance, they provide specific information about the so-important discussions:

• The amount of thought and originality you put into discussion boards posts will equal the amount you enjoy the class. 
• The path to success in this class relies on a personal decision to be proactive on the discussion boards, and a strong drive to gain from other views. 
• My advice would be to take the discussion posts pretty seriously because they're a major part in this class and they make the writer think before writing. There are many posts that are designed to help you become a better writer and also learn from other students. 
• My advice would be: Be early and active in the discussions.
• A big part of the discussions that Prof Warnock likes (but many forget) is citing sources and using them in order to support your claim.
• Don't treat discussion board posts as homework, treat them as actual discussions, try and get involved in actual discussions. (It goes by much quicker when you do that) 
• The key to earning a good grade in this online course is to stay on top of the course discussions, they are responsible for the majority of your grade and all it takes is to log in once a day and share your thoughts. 

They have some thoughts about time management:

• Also, start doing your work as soon as possible instead of doing it all at once. 
• My advice would be to stay up-to-date on reading and writing discussion posts and to reach out for help in the early stages of projects and assignments if needed.
• If you came into an online class expecting to do less work then a traditional class, you are greatly mistaken.
• Do not wait until the very last moment to start your posts for the week because you will forget about the deadlines and miss them.  

They give some ideas about reading:

•  Read the homework readings closely and carefully, this will help you on quizzes and discussion boards but will also truly benefit your writing overall. 
• My advice would be to read everything -- your classmates can be your biggest asset. 

The even offer general advice about writing in a first-year course:

• Try to develop a passion for what you are writing about because it will certainly help you with writing a paper and it will make the final product better… 
• My advice would be to not let yourself get intimidated when it comes to writing, you'll get more out of the course if you start off just letting yourself write freely. 

I offer a curated version of this ever-growing list to students at the beginning of the term. I feel that while of course I hope they listen to me as I prepare them for the weeks ahead, there's no better way for them to set some expectations than to hear from those who have been down that virtual road already.

Note:
(1) This was the thinking that drove Writing Together: Ten Weeks Teaching and Studenting in an Online Writing Course, which I co-authored with former student Diana Gasiewski.