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[22235933]

First let me say, I love online teaching.  I believe in it.  I believe it serves a valuable service to areas that are critically undeserved by traditional educational resources.  But lately I feel like I'm just spinning wheels and getting no where.

I just finished grading the Introductory Speech assignment by my students.  These are speeches that they frame and record themselves, no audience this time, and upload to YouTube.  To me, this seems exceptionally straightforward and easy.  There are technical issues from time to time but I've never encountered the sheer number of "no attempts" as I have this semester.

28 out of 70 students submitted their work this time.  This is the lowest participation count I've ever had.  This is especially discouraging after retooling my course to encourage additional intra-weekly participation instead of being utilized as a weekend thing.

Is this normal?  I've been teaching online for a couple of years and maybe it just feels worse to me now.  Is 40% participation normal?  Mind, I've combined three classes to arrive at the 40% score.  My worst course had 30 students enrolled with only 5 students submitting their work.

I'd like some advice and maybe a little encouragement if anyone has any to give.

Thanks,

Frustrated in Cyberspace.

[caesura]

Sounds pretty normal to me, although that depends on your student population and the purpose of the course (i.e., requirement vs. elective). 

The way I look at it, online education lowers the barriers to participation in education for a lot of people.  By and large, that's a good thing.  But one consequence of the lowered barriers is that people don't necessarily have to be as committed to enroll in an online course as they do to enroll in f2f courses.  That means, inevitably, a larger percentage of those who enroll will not be sufficiently committed to complete the course.  To me, that's OK; it's a price worth paying to make the course available to those who are committed but wouldn't be able to take the course any other way.

One good thing about online courses, for me at any rate, is that the slackers just "disappear" (rather than sit in the back of the classroom radiating bad attitude).  I get to teach the students who participate, and that's who I focus on. 

That said, I do reach out to students who have trouble getting started in the beginning of the semester, usually through an email letting them know I noticed their absence and offering my help with any problems they may be having with the course.  For example, is it very clear to students before they enroll that they will need a webcam in order to participate?  In your student population, do you have a lot of students who are sharing computers in less-than-private spaces that might make recording a speech difficult?  Not that you can do anything about that, except make sure that students know up front that they will need to do that or consider enrolling in a different course. 

[dlmcga01]

I despair, too.  I'm in the same boat.  I'm teaching a 400-level WR course online.  I have eight students.  Only three of the eight students completed the first assignment, which was a blog entry based on a documentary they watch.  Honestly, it wasn't difficult.  Only three students submitted the assignment and I can only assign a passing grade to one student.  It's heartbreaking and disgusting at the same time.  I too am firmly committed to teaching online courses, so it's hard to stomach this.  I don't mind penalizing those students who are not participating.  I focus on motivated students.  But, it's hard to focus on those who are motivated, when there are so few of them.  So, I'm grateful that you've asked for feedback and condolences.  It's such a deflating experience.

That said, I feel strongly that we're dealing with an issue that is much bigger than the students' lack of commitment.  My husband is in his third semester of online courses and I am appalled at how little effort instructors are putting into their courses.  He's a fulltime student (4-5 courses/semester) and he usually has one, maybe two, instructors who actively participate in the course by engaging students personally; creating assignments that draw on the affordances of virtual classrooms; etc.  The most common set-up is "do your reading and take your exam."  There may be a discussion board, but it's uncommon for instructors to participate.  I know some instructors choose not to participate because they don't want the conversations to center around their comments; nevertheless, there are plenty of ways to indicate that you're reading the posts regularly.  From what I've seen, many of these online courses are structured as independent studies and it's negatively affecting those students who are committed to their work and those of us committed to our online teaching. 

To get back at your question at hand, I'm allowing each student to revise and resubmit this assignment because it's their first assignment.   In the past, when I've done this, I've allowed all students to revise and resubmit one paper with no grade penalty.   This allows those who completed the assignment well to have a similar opportunity for improvement on another assignment.  But, this is the first time I've ever encountered an issue where the class is doing so poorly.  I'm teaching the course on campus and they're doing great with their assignments.  I'm convinced that I'll be the only instructor, since the dawn of time, to have every student drop or fail the course. 

I share your frustrations. Ugh.
Deanna

[snowbound]

There may be a discussion board, but it's uncommon for instructors to participate.  I know some instructors choose not to participate because they don't want the conversations to center around their comments

I was amazed to discover this is the attitude of many online instructors.  I teach f-to-f, plus one summer online class.  One of my summer students expressed his great appreciation for my active involvement in the discussion board, which he said was unusual among his online teachers.  In my field (literature), and I suspect many others, conversations in an undergrad class NEED to primarily center around the ideas the teacher raises (unless one is teaching very bright, sophisticated readers, which one generally is not).  THat's called leading the discussion.  Left to themselves (I do some of that too for a while), students stick to the most banal and obvious things.  It takes some prodding from me to help them understand the text at a deeper level--which is the point of the class.  Since lit classes don;t really use textbooks per se, it's hard to see how students could learn how to become more skilled perceptive readers without help from a teacher.

Sorry, this is a tangent.

[slinger]

... and I can only assign a passing grade to one student. 

Wait, what?

[larryc]

I have frequently sent a mass email those students who failed to complete an early assignment (use BCC of course).

"Dear Student: You are receiving this email because you do not seem on track to pass History 100. Three assignments have been due so far [describe assignments]. I see from the Blackboard website that you have not completed at least one of these. For more information, check your grades at the BB website: [url].

"It is my experience that students who fall behind at the start of the semester rarely succeed in passing the course. It is my recommendation that you either 1) submit the late work immediately, with the late penalties as described in the syllabus in effect, and complete all of the remaining assignments on time, or 2) drop the course immediately and take it again when you are in a better position to meet the requirements.

"Sincerely...."

[22235933]

I've sent many an email like that.

I do appreciate the advice.  After a more thorough reading of what other online teachers are and have experienced, I'm confident that my experience is not exceptional.  I will continue to focus on those who are in regular attendance and worry less about the efforts (or lack thereof) of those who choose not to participate.

Thanks for the commiseration.

[erikjensen]

It might not be possible in your situation, but I would "no-show drop" these students after a warning. In the first four days of the term, my students must take a generic online learning tutorial, post to the discussion board, take a syllabus quiz, and make appointments for proctored exams. Failure to do so results in a warning of a no-show drop. I end up dropping about 10-15% of my students and I've never had a student or administrator complain. I let in extra students in anticipation of these drops.

[whipkitty]

Chime with LarryC...and one more thought.  I, too, get relatively high DWF rates in my online class.  In your case, are you *positive* students are failing to do assignments because they just aren't doing the assignment?  Might this be a lack of technology issue?  I don't have a cellphone, and I only just purchased a laptop with webcam attached.  If I were a lower income student, I might not be able to afford what I need.  Of course, they should think of that before they commit to the course...but it might be worth checking into.

[caesura]

Yes, I've had students whose power was turned off because they couldn't pay the bill, who were using their employer's computer at a live-in job but then got fired, who couldn't use the local library computers because the closest library was 30 miles away and they had no car and no public transportation in their rural area, etc.

These students still fail or, if they are smart, withdraw, of course, but I give them lots of sympathy and encouragement to try again when their lives have settled down.