I always start my courses with a quiz in the Icebreaker Module based on information in my syllabus. For my lab courses I add questions about using Gateway, including how students save their work and how they will turn in their labs for grading. They get their information from the links I provide in my syllabus to the Gateway FAQ page (Gateway STUDENT User Guide.) I find this to be a great way to help them feel more comfortable using the online lab manuals. The video is the most important piece to start with, so I supply a link directly to that: How to Use Gateway Lab Manuals (Video). Providing these links also guides students to a place where they can find information in the future.

Then, in the first module I assign some of the included Gateway virtual labs to get them even more comfortable with the platform before they receive their physical materials. It seems to be a great way to ease them into online labs and cover some important content in an interactive manner before tackling the hands-on investigations.