The freshers’ week experience in a VLE: can it be achieved?

Campus based students are welcomed to our University during the first week of their course, but for students studying by online distance learning (ODL) a comparable mechanism does not exist. Academic staff experienced in teaching by ODL considered this to be a gap in students’ educational experience and, furthermore, that opportunities for early engagement of students in their online course could be enhanced. The aim of this paper is to explain the rationale for an online induction, to outline the activities undertaken by students and staff and to consider whether online induction is an effective strategy for online learning.