next »

[johnr]

I'm into week two of a six week online course, the first completely online course that I've taught. I set up the class as a series of nine units that the students must complete.  Units consist of assigned readings, a narrated PowerPoint presentation, a discussion board question, and a quiz. Students can work at their own pace and they must complete all nine units to pass the class. 

So, my problem is that after one week, less than half the class has started.  And some have yet to even log in for the first time.  There are 50 students in the class and all of them responded to an informational email, with syllabus attached, that I sent out a few days before the class began. They all  indicated that they would, indeed, be participating (we have a long waiting list for the class).

So, was it a mistake to let them proceed at their own pace?  Perhaps I should have posted two units at a time and given the students one week to complete them; and then move on to the next two,  etc...

For those of you who've been there and done that, what has been your experience?   What is your advice?  I'm afraid that, for many of the students, it will turn out that they'll be cramming all nine lessons into the last week or two and end up getting very little out of the class.  Sounds like something I would have tried to pull as an undergraduate!

I did sent out a gentle reminder/mild rebuke type email yesterday, urging everyone to get started.

[patchouli]

I'd like to hear what others have to say about this, but my experience with online classes is that students often need more direction and nudging to get them going and keep them going. 

If this is their first class like this, they might think they can do most of it at the end--a nightmare for you.

[der_gadfly]

Mistake number 1 is to allow the students to set their own pace. YMMV, but adding structure seems to be one key to success. The students will likely procrastinate, then panic, produce ill-conceived work, have a plethora of (sometimes really funny) excuses, and then do the grade challenge thing. You will also be buried with last minute work: At this point, I recommend that you clear your schedule of everything BUT grading for that last week.

It may be too late now, but you might consider contacting the 'late' students individually to 'gently remind them' that the course requires 135+ hours of total time (for 3 credits) and that they could be endangering their performance by not logging in.

OP - is there is a highly qualified 'admin' at your institution whose role is to support faculty in the technical and pedagogical needs of online instruction? - if not, at least someone you can consult for advice in strategies for online instruction? Too many institutions are leaving faculty swinging in the breeze in terms of 'online course syllabi creation', and I suspect that this may be the case where you are. Budgets are tight, and real 'pedagogical experts' are seen as excess baggage... until that is, students complain about online courses, or it is apparent that there is a significant difference in performance between F2F and online courses. THEN, there is a panic, and Wyatt Earp is called in to 'clean up Dodge'. This rarely works, but "...look at how long we were able to save a salary...".

I wish that I could offer more concrete advice on how to escape your current dilemma, but for the future, remember that students essentially all procrastinate; online courses often do not see a lot of activity until the course is about 33% completed; your next syllabus should include required weekly discussions (many faculty have a "Hi, my name is..." to start the ball rolling); be proactive right now and be sure to check in (to your e-course) frequently. Provide positive feedback.

Best wishes to you and do not let one 'less than ideal' experience turn you off to online instruction.

[dellaroux]

Isn't the quiz time-bound? Wouldn't that be a place to start pushing for more consistent logging in and doing the work?

Maybe start adding required discussions once a week that have to show at least one or two points of input or contentual response for credit, and that can't be made up after the week is over.

Those could become part of the class participation score, and that, a certain percentage of the final grade.

Anything that lights a fire...but doesn't burn you.

[yatchie]

I don't think it's limited to self-paced classes.  I'm also teaching online for the first time this summer.  I set up very aggressive homework and quiz deadlines such that they are due every Monday and Thursday.  Almost everyone got their homework in last week, but about half the class had not completed more than a quarter of the assignment as of this morning.  I sent those people an email this morning reminding them about tonight's deadline... what else can be done? 

I mean, I even got a series of emails this morning from a student hounding me about how he can't access the CMS package we are using.  I changed the settings for a late add, reminding him of tonight's deadline.  Has he added yet?  No.

[seeweed]

I taught my first entirely online course last summer, with much the same setup as the OP. If I had to do it again - which I won't for a few years, anyway - I would definitely include more frequent and firm deadlines. For example, when I ran the course there were four exams, all of which needed to be completed prior to the last day of class. Next time, I will close access to the first exam about 2 weeks into the course so that they must make some progress. The second one will close around 3 weeks in, etc. I spent an inordinate amount of time hounding students, practically begging them to begin working. Nightmare. More training & resources would have been appreciated, but I certainly learned a lot.

[dept_geek]

I've played around with deadlines over the past few years, and have found it honestly doesn't matter. Put in a bunch of strict deadlines, but put the day/time to meet your needs.  Weds at noon. Monday at 10:45AM. Thursday at 9:21PM. Whatever. About 10% will get it done early, 20% or so 12 - 36 hours ahead of the deadline, the rest will get it submitted no earlier than 2 hours before the deadline.

Self-paced online classes don't work unless these are highly highly motivated grad students.

They will complain how mean you are for odd deadlines, lots of deadlines, etc. But very few will understand that your suggestion of starting way ahead of the due date actually applied to them. This group all knows that they work better under pressure and you are a big ol'meany anyway.

[bone_gal]

Deadlines are your friends for online classes!  I think of it like my face to face classes... I have them set up a certain way for a reason. It is not ok for a student to decide when they want to do everything during the semester, and they need to move through the material at the pace I determine is the best for whatever reason. Sure, some students won't do it, and will skip classes, turn in late assignments or miss them completely, etc., but I don't have to condone that. It's a choice they make that will affect their grade, and the same goes for my online classes.

You probably can't change something so fundamental once the class has started, but definitely set up deadlines for future classes. Preferably some during the first few weeks, with clear penalties for late or missed work. Some students are never going to get it, but the ones who care will shape up.

[johnr]

Deadlines are your friends for online classes!  I think of it like my face to face classes... I have them set up a certain way for a reason. It is not ok for a student to decide when they want to do everything during the semester, and they need to move through the material at the pace I determine is the best for whatever reason. Sure, some students won't do it, and will skip classes, turn in late assignments or miss them completely, etc., but I don't have to condone that. It's a choice they make that will affect their grade, and the same goes for my online classes.

You probably can't change something so fundamental once the class has started, but definitely set up deadlines for future classes. Preferably some during the first few weeks, with clear penalties for late or missed work. Some students are never going to get it, but the ones who care will shape up.

I think you are correct bone gal.  I was originally thinking that since it was a summer online course, the students probably had jobs and vacations and travel to deal with so, no strict deadlines.   Wrong!

[lucys]

Firm deadlines are a must. I have taught online both in a 16-week session and 3-week summer sessions. I put each lesson up week by week in the semester-long sessions. For the summer course, I do put everything up at once with daily lessons, but there are firm due dates for homework and major assignments. My syllabus states that it is not a self-paced course. Students must also sign in at least once Monday-Friday for attendance purposes. If students miss more than 2 days in the summer session, they lose 50 points from their final grade.

[johnr]

Update:

Well, we are halfway through the six week course.  The final drop deadline has past.  Out of 50 students, I have 46 remaining.  Of those 46, two have yet to start the class.  Over the past three weeks, I sent out increasing less gentle reminders to those who hadn't started that they were getting further and further behind and that the last-day-to-drop deadline was approaching.

Thanks to the suggestions here I think that next summer I will have deadlines for each unit to keep the class together, more or less.

[msoexpert]

I've been teaching on campus and online for many years now. And I've made my fair share of online teaching mistakes during this time. But that's very common because you often learn as you go. And with each new set of students, you learn how to fine-tune things.

I know many instructors who post everything for the quarter and then allow students to work at their own pace when completing course material. But I never work this way! I like to focus my students on each individual week. So they cannot work ahead in any of my classes, no matter what subject I'm teaching.

Now I will say this. It's very common for students to get off to a pretty slow start. Remember, there's the add / drop period. And sometimes, students will wait to see if they passed another class before they jump-in and start participating in this one. I had that this quarter when one of my students e-mailed me to say he didn't pass one of his math classes. So he had to drop mine in order to make that one up.

This is why I have extended deadlines during the first 2 weeks of the session. It allows students who may be new to online learning to become more comfortable with how things work. It also adjusts for any potential tech issues that may come-up during this time. And compensates for the add / drop period when students may register later.

By week 3, students should be up and running at full speed! So that's when I will shorten the deadlines because there's no need to make them more comfortable with the system. Enough time has passed when they should be proficient enough.

And as far as deadlines go, I make each week's deadline crystal-clear. I put the day, date, and time when everything's due. And make one deadline for everything. This avoids having discussions due at one time, while assignments may be due some other time. That makes it harder for both the instructor and the student. So I have one weekly due date and time for everything that's due that week.

[mathprofdk]

And as far as deadlines go, I make each week's deadline crystal-clear. I put the day, date, and time when everything's due. And make one deadline for everything. This avoids having discussions due at one time, while assignments may be due some other time. That makes it harder for both the instructor and the student. So I have one weekly due date and time for everything that's due that week.

While I appreciate your reasoning, I'm not sure I like this for the discussions.  I usually require a post and at least two replies, and when I've done them all due on one day, everything gets scrunched up at the last minute and there isn't really a discussion.  I like to have one due date for the initial post, and then a day or two off before the replies are due.  This gives the class some time to actually interact.

I do have all the same dates for homework, though.  It definitely makes things easier to remember for everyone.

[medieval_spectacle]

And as far as deadlines go, I make each week's deadline crystal-clear. I put the day, date, and time when everything's due. And make one deadline for everything. This avoids having discussions due at one time, while assignments may be due some other time. That makes it harder for both the instructor and the student. So I have one weekly due date and time for everything that's due that week.

While I appreciate your reasoning, I'm not sure I like this for the discussions.  I usually require a post and at least two replies, and when I've done them all due on one day, everything gets scrunched up at the last minute and there isn't really a discussion.  I like to have one due date for the initial post, and then a day or two off before the replies are due.  This gives the class some time to actually interact.

I do have all the same dates for homework, though.  It definitely makes things easier to remember for everyone.

I haven't started teaching online like this, so take this with a grain of salt, as I've no idea how well it works, but during my training for my online teaching, it was recommended that we create a discussion-grading rubric that includes timely, well-spaced postings (i.e., start early, and keep responding throughout the week) as one of its criteria for an A on any given discussion board posting. I'm planning to implement this rubric in my class in hopes of giving students motivation to get their initial postings in quickly, and give themselves time to respond to classmates. Does that sound like a reasonable way to deal with the issue? Is it likely to work?

[magistra]

Sounds good to me.  I like the idea of a rubric the students have.  Too often it's never explained exactly how posts are graded, even though they can be a significant portion of the grade.