Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Digital Teaching

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Digital Teaching and Learning | FAQs on Online Education | Didactic Questions | Do you have any recommendations for an online 'netiquette' for teachers and students?

Do you have any recommendations for an online 'netiquette' for teachers and students?

Teaching and learning online and remotely in times of crisis is a great challenge for teachers and students. Treating each other with respect and understanding is always important and in the current situation even more so.


All participants of online classes should be aware that digital classes will follow the same rules of conduct as classes on campus. For example, participants should use their own names. 
It can be helpful to define some group rules at the beginning of the course and to refer to these rules, if necessary.


The aim should be to prevent misunderstandings by communicating clearly from the very beginning and to create a productive learning atmosphere for all.

The following basic rules might be helpful to establish:

  1. Digital classes follow the same standards of communication that are valid in classes on campus: Please restrain from insulting others or sharing private or inappropriate content. All participants should kepp an eye on their orthography and punctuation. Humour and Irony should be used with particular care in written communication as to prevent misunderstandings.
  2. Please respect copy rights and personal data: Do not share files and materials of others unless you have explicit permission to do so. Please make use of the academic citation rules and cite correctly. Please do not share screen shots or take pictures of teachers and students.
  3. Please unterstand that putting a course or a whole semester online is a big challenge for teachers and students. Mistakes and misunderstandings are inevitable. Do not led yourself (or your criticism) be led by a false feeling of anonymity. If you want to criticize something, do so in a professional and constructive way: reach out via e-mail, chat or zoom and also show empathy for each other and for the unusual situation.

Further ideas for class rules, you can finde here:

http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
https://achievevirtual.org/7-rules-for-online-etiquette/