Week three of an online class.

This is part 3 in my continuing series of blogs about the life of an online instructor at the beginning of the semester.

Week 3

We are working hard now. Most of the students are doing a good job, though there are still several stragglers and a couple of complete no-shows.

I have found that the most difficult thing is to get a reasonable amount and type of participation from the students. Students post excuses, "My mommy's cat has a hangnail so I won't be posting for three weeks and I want an A".

I am quite happy to demand more from them. If they post slop, I require more from them on an individual basis. EG: "Your response is amusing, Freddy, but we need to focus on science for this class. Werewolves are just for entertainment. Please give us more details about the scientific aspects of the Moon."

I am never critical of a student in the public forum. For example:

My post: in discussion: "Freddy, I have sent you an email. Please read it."

Email to Freddy: "Freddy, you need to concentrate on the reading and science. Please do not make any more posts about werewolves. If you continue, I may remove your postings and assign a grade of zero for this work. I know you can do better. Thanks!"

If they get hostile or offensive, I take them out of the discussions pronto. I can block them if necessary. Then I deal with them via email and make sure they understand where they went wrong before I let them back in.

This is where the real "art" of teaching one of these online classes comes to the fore. It's a never-ending challenge to keep the students involved. I cannot do it for all of them, though, so I don't beat myself up if some slack off. It's the nature of the beast. I grade them accordingly and don't worry about it.

If they post late, I take points off no matter what the excuse. If they don't reply to a posting from me or someone else, I reduce the grade. If they are off topic, I redirect them. They are in real trouble if they don’t respond to my redirect posting! If they are having a personal conversation, I send them to class email rather than allow them to waste all of our time in the "Online Classroom".

I don't let them trap me into taking the responsibility for their failures. There are requirements for this class. I stick to the requirements without exception so I am not buried under individual complaints, special circumstances, protests, etc. They have extra credit to handle the problems. Most students respect the fact that I stick to my standards. They know nobody is getting any free ride.

I find that by the third week many students are really into the class and are doing a smashing job. The ones who are active and participating fully at this point are almost certain to carry through for the rest of the semester and earn high grades. This the time when teaching these classes gets to be a lot of fun and very rewarding!