Students may behave differently with online interaction.  A the lack of connection can lead to students being disruptive and appropriate action needs to be taken by the instructor to ensure a peaceful non distracted online experience.

Asynchronous discussions are the essential to enhancing learning for tudents in the online environment.  It allows for various personalities and backgrounds to interact, with a detailed, well thoughout response in discussions vs synchronous discussions that can be overpowered by fast typers and the anxiety associated with technology and responding to a discussion.  

Reaching out to students individually at the start of a new class vs just messaging them as a group is a great idea to build a personalized connection with the students right away.    

It is important to have the class organized with an efficiant flow right off the bat.  This will ensure ease of use and help to avoid excess frustrations and difficulties for the students and especially for anyone new to the online environment or limited in technology experience.