"Feelings of social isolation can worsen when students learn at a distance from their peers and instructor. To lower this barrier, humanized online courses incorporate kindness cues of social inclusion (Estrada et al, 2018.) into the 'high opportunity zone' of an online course ; the week prior to the start of instruction and the first week of a class." - Michelle Pacansky-Brock How and Why to Humanize your Online Class

The beginning of a course is an ideal time to build rapport with your students. Weeks "zero" and one are often times of high anxiety. Help your students feel motivated and connected with these strategies, divided into three categories: foundational, great practices, and high impact. Look at the list and see if there's one or two you'd like to try this semester!

Foundational (useful in any class):

Survey students to find out about their needs, technological, educational, and human
So much is in a name! Make sure students are called what makes them comfortable: give them a chance to share their preferred name, pronoun, and proper pronunciation. In Zoom, teach them to update their display name.
Orient them to the the class. Live, or in a shared video, give students a "tour" to help them navigate your shared online environment.

Great Practices (simple strategies to support students in week one):

Introduce and humanize yourself! To the extent that you're comfortable, use a video, text or discussion post to share a little about your life and interests. Help students feel your excitement about the course topic and teaching them!
Help students get to know each other. Use an introductions Discussion or other icebreakers to help students build relationships (scroll down for ideas).
Set realistic expectations for communication. Proactively help students understand when they can expect a response to their email or question. For example: I'll be responding to emails Monday through Friday, but not on weekends. During the week you can expect me to respond to emails within 24 hours.
Teach the tool(s) that you'll be using in your course - including Canvas and Zoom! Students could practice on an icebreaker activity.
If students enter your class with anxiety about your subject (for example, intro writing or STEM), do an activity to help them unpack their baggage. Examples: a letter to you, structured conversations with fellow students, anonymous posts on a message board, etc.

High Impact (Impactful strategies that require more time)

Create a warm, imperfect welcome video. Upload it to your Canvas Studio and add it to your homepage or send it out to your students before your course starts!
Build a class charter. Talk with your students about what they need from themselves, each other, and you to grow and learn this semester. Work together to create shared class norms or agreements about how you'll interact this semester (Check out these slides for a class charter lesson plan)

The first week of an online class is often all about getting oriented. Giving students time to meet each other and understand the course before diving into content can be a wonderful gift!

Text: a multiple choice titled About You and Math. "Describe..." and then three options: your ideal math class, a memory from a previous class, how I can be the best teacher for you

Icebreakers

OneHE Community Building Activities - Website with sortable list of engaging digital activities, including icebreakers.
Icebreakers - Ideas, do's, and don'ts from Breana Brayaktor
Prompts ideas for a "getting to know you" Discussion
4 excellent questions to get to know your students (Twitter post).

More Sources/Resources:

Customizing your Profile on Zoom - instructions from Zoom on how to update your display name and image.
Surveys: Gathering Student Feedback on SSU's Professional Development Canvas Course.
How and Why to Humanize your Online Class -well-sourced, powerful infographic by Michelle Pacansky-Brock.
Building Trust & Creating Online Safe Spaces for Marginalized Participants - looks at considerations when trying to build supportive online spaces for marginalized students or students of color. By Dr. Maha Bali
Episode 28: Underprepared Students in the College Classroom: Working with "At Potential" Populations with Dr. Newton Miller - podcast episode sharing foundational equity teaching practices. By Barbi Honeycutt, Ph.D. Lecture Breakers Podcast.