It can be helpful to send an email to students even before the first day of class. Such emails help students get oriented, answer pressing questions about content delivery and course texts, and generate excitement for the coming term. Below, you will find several examples of welcome emails.

Sample Welcome Email from ERSC 1010

Sample Welcome Email from WMST 1001

Trent Decanal Template for Welcome Email

Sample Welcome Email and Survey from ERSC 1010

Welcome to Environmental Science and Sustainability!

As professor in ERSC 1010H and Associate Director of the School of the Environment, I'm very excited to welcome you to Trent and our introductory course. We're also a little bit nervous, to be honest. Remote learning is new to us all, so we'll have to be generous with each other. But we've been working hard to get ready and promise to do our best to help you learn as much as you can, have a positive experience, and do your best this term.

First class: Our first class meeting is Thursday, September 10 at 9am. We'll meet by Zoom and the link for all our sessions is in the "Zoom Class Sessions" link in the menu on the left-hand side of the page. We recommend downloading the Zoom app to your computer for these sessions. 

Syllabus: You can also take some time to read through the syllabus (linked at the top of the left-hand menu). This is a learning contract that sets out the key expectations of the course. 

Textbook: Many of our readings this year will come an online version of Bill Freedman's textbook Environmental Science: A Canadian Perspective. You'll be happy to know that the textbook won't cost you anything. We've also adapted the book to follow the content in ERSC 1010H, things that we think are most important for you to know for success in this course and upper year environmental courses. The readings will be linked through this Blackboard site but you can also find the book on the Pressbooks Open Library.

Survey: We also would like to get to know a bit about you. Please take 5 minutes to fill in our start-up survey.

I think that's it for now. Look forward to seeing you Thursday!

Created by and shared with permission of Professor Stephen Hill

Sample Welcome Email from WMST 1001

Hi Everyone,

Aaniin!

Welcome to Women's Studies 1001 and congratulations on making it this far in remote learning! We will find our way together. Please don't worry too much in these first weeks as we smooth out the bumps of arriving into the course in this new way. 

I have received a few emails asking me to clear up some first week confusion. I hope this will help: your academic timetable says that you have a lecture on Thursdays. Please ignore this as I will be posting mini-lectures every Monday morning for the week that you can view or listen to as your schedules allow. These are recorded and will be available all term. You can access them under course content on the course Blackboard. We will not be attending in-person lectures this term. 

To access the course Blackboard, simply go to www.trentu.ca/myTrent and log in with your student name or ID and password. You can link to the blackboard at the bottom of your screen. On my screen it is represented by a circle around two B’s. Click on our course and you should be where you can access all of the course content. 

You attend seminars weekly (or bi-weekly) when possible, by clicking on Blackboard Collaborate at the appropriate time. You have each been assigned a seminar number and time. Show up and enjoy the learning!

Lastly, there is no textbook for this course. This year, all readings are pre-copied, digitally available, and appear under Readings and Resources on our course Blackboard. 

Ryla, our Online Learning Student Assistant, will be posting a video to get you started and to help you find all of the things as you need them. I have posted one of these videos as well. Check these out if you are hoping for some help finding your way into the class rhythm. 

Wishing you all well as we begin,

Jenn

Created by and shared with the permission of Professor Jenn Cole

Trent Decanal Template Welcome Email

Dear Student,

Welcome to <INSERT COURSE NAME>.  This year will undoubtably be different in many ways, but the Trent spirit, and our sense of community remain.

This will be a technology heavy year and I would like to provide you with guidance on how I will use technology in this course.  A number of new and existing technologies have been deployed to help you connect and participate fully in this class’s learning activities.

The following is a collection of resources that will help you to get started in using them effectively.

IF USING BLACKBOARD, INSERT THE FOLLOWING SECTION

Accessing Blackboard and the myTrent portal

The Blackboard Learning Management System will be used as this course’s main hub where I will post much of this course’s content.  I would ask that you become more comfortable with the use of Blackboard.  For information on navigating Blackboard, please see - https://www.trentu.ca/it/user-guides/navigating-a-course-in-blackboard

The myTrent portal is the digital hub for all your Trent services and resources. It’s also how you access Blackboard and all of the other applications you’ll use as a student at Trent.

For more information on accessing myTrent, please see - https://www.trentu.ca/it/user-guides/navigating-the-mytrent-portal

IF HOLDING SYNCHRONOUS CLASSES THROUGH ZOOM LIVE SESSIONS, INSERT THE FOLLOWING SECTION

Accessing class meetings

I will be delivering real time sessions using Zoom.   Just before the scheduled class day and time, access Blackboard, select this course, and select the Zoom Live Sessions link on the course menu.  Find the correct date from the list of meetings and click the Join button.  Zoom Live Sessions require the use of Zoom software.  For more information on Zoom Live Sessions see: https://www.trentu.ca/it/services/user-guides/zoom-students-live-sessions-through-blackboard .  For more information on Zoom see: https://www.trentu.ca/it/services/user-guides/zoom-getting-started

IF MAKING RECORDINGS AVAILABLE THROUGH ZOOM LIVE SESSIONS, INSERT THE FOLLOWING SECTION

Accessing class recordings

I will be recording all class sessions and will make all recordings available through the Zoom Live Sessions section, in my Blackboard course, under the Cloud Recordings tab.  

IF YOU ARE WANTING STUDENTS TO USE SPECIALIZED SOFTWARE ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY, INSERT THE FOLLOWNG SECTION

Virtual Computing Commons

I will be utilizing the university’s Virtual Computing Commons to provide you with access to software specifically needed for this course.  A list of applications available through the university’s service can be found at:  https://www.trentu.ca/it/software-computing-commons.   For more information regarding the Virtual Computing Commons service, see:   https://www.trentu.ca/it/services/virtual-computing-commons-remote-access

In addition to the above resources, I would like to make you aware of the following technology resources:

Free Microsoft Office

As a student at Trent University, you are entitled to a free copy of Microsoft Office! This professional edition of Office can be installed on up to 5 devices and includes subscriptions to the mobile Office apps, Microsoft Teams and OneDrive too. To download your copy of Office, please see: https://www.trentu.ca/it/services/user-guides/microsoft-advantage-programs-download

Google G-Suite for Email and Storage

You may have noticed that your email looks a LOT like a regular Gmail account. That is because the university has partnered with Google to provide your email service to you.  G-Suite includes access to all of the other Google components, including; unlimited storage in Google Drive, Photos, Docs and more. For more information on accessing all the benefits of your G-Suite subscription, please see: https://www.trentu.ca/it/services/g-suite-for-education

Important Resources

Trent University has a lot of technology supports available to you to help you be successful this year. While I have tried to provide you the most important tech tips, here, to get you started, there are many other technology resources available.  Please visit the Trent IT “Going Remote” page for more resources: https://www.trentu.ca/it/going-remote-students

Do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.   If you have questions of a technical nature, you can email it@trentu.ca or call (705)748-1010.

Prepared by: Dana Capell

Last updated: November 24, 2020