The bissest pitfall I see is time management skills. Regardless of what is going on in a students life, in my experience, staying on track with time has been the biggest challenge. In order to assist students with their time management skills, I have the assignments and due dates on a calendar, I go into General Course questions and Announcements to remind students of particular assignments expecially the more challenging ones. I encourage them to get a head start as late assignments are not accepted and it is easy for time to get away.
Letitia,
I agree with you; time management is such a problem. I think we may need to help students think about online work as project management with more work on the calendar.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
One thing that I think of is the availability heuristic, which is a tendency to estimate the likelihood that an event will occur by how easily instances of it come to mind. I actually see this as possibly a survival technique, but often circumstances require further investigation.
If a student remembers a time when he or she managed to create and submit an A assignment within a couple of hours, the optimistic expectation might be that this will always happen is likely to not be the case. This expectation may require some self-assessment on the part of the student when this feat is generally not repeatable.
Marcia,
What a great post!!!! You make such great points in students expectations and the reality. Students don't always transfer skills from one course to another and this may be a way for them to do that.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I've found those students failing is due to procrastination. Waiting till the last minute to do things is a recipe for disaster as they are less organizations and the anxiety levels are high. So at the start of class I ask them to post early and often (for discussion board postings) or post their assignments early in case some natural disaster occurs or if they want to move on to the next module. Students do take me up on this. Some complain they are taking other course or family issues. I do remind students that on average they should be spending 10 to 15 hrs per online class to be successful.
The biggest pitfall I see for students is that the seem to ignore my efforts to interact. They do not attend live chat session (or review the recordings)--in some case they explicitly refuse to do so.
They do not review the announcements or helpful materials I have posted to the classroom (for example, I provide a template to use for assignments and they do not use it).
Some students do not even read emails.
In those more extreme cases, it does not seem to matter how much effort the instructor puts into communicating, those students do not seem to be motivated to do anything that common sense would dictate to be successful in any course, online or otherwise.
At that point, shifting focus to the students who do respond seems to be a good option.
Although I have tried to reach out to Student Advisors to ask for assistance in communicating with the difficult students. Sometimes this works, but most of the time the Student Advisors either do not respond at all, or inform me that the student is unresponsive and nothing can be done.
Roberto,
You are right about the procrastination. I have started using project management techniques to create a culture of planning. I doesn't always work but it does help some.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Gwenda,
You make a great point. It is easy for students online to ignore the instructor. they also don't always take any responsibility for their action or their inaction and it can be very frustrating. There is really only so much you can do.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I see my students have poor time management skills, they do not have someone on their time at home or family that can cheer them on, they do not understand or know how to write as well as cite their references and they have a lot of personnal issues that gets in between their education and life which usually impacts their learning and grades in a very negative way.
Patricia
Hi Ramonica,
The generation coming up now they actually are getting pushed into going to college but their parents but the older generations do not see the importance of going to college because they did not have that option they were required to get a job and go to work. I think we need to encourage and motivate our students to let them know that we do care and that we want to see them be successful.
Patricia
Patricia,
I think this is something we have to work on but it is an uphill battle. I have started using outlook calendaring. It seems to help, but ultimately it is up to them.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Patricia,
You make some very interesting points. I had not thought in those ways. I am concerned that even if they valued education, they would not see value in online ed. It is a process.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The main pitfall I see are students not giving themselves enough time to complete their assignments. Many students seem to be scrambling to complete their work on time, and their work quality suffers because of it. Trying to emphasize time management with students can be helpful. Breaking up assignments into smaller chunks due at different points can also be helpful to get them going earlier in the week.
There are two pitfalls that come to mind. First, many students procrastinate as they believe that they can complete assignments on the day/night they are due. Second, many students fail to integrate needed research and format into their submissions.
To help them, instructors need to provide clear expectations to ensure students understand the time needs of the class and the dangers of procrastination. Descriptive syllabi will also help prepare students for the course. Effective communication and the presentation of learning materials will also help students achieve success.
The biggest pitfall I see with my students is lack of time management. I believe that students think that they know more about the class then they really do and therefore, they wait until the last minute to get their assignments done and then they have all kinds of problems. Some issues I hear that they have are centered on technology; my computer shut down or the power went out. Some issues are person; my kid was sick, I had death in the family, etc.
I believe as an instructor, I should be flexible with students when I can. Providing students with extensions to submit their assignments late. Also, referring them to their advisor or to other resources that might help them with issues that may not have anything to do with class assignments.
I see students coming into online courses/degree programs thinking this approach is easier than going to ftf classes--and in fact, as we have discussed/reviewed in this course, the opposite is true--the online environment is actually more diffuclt because of needed technology skills, the discipline and motivation to achieve their goals, and goal focus well-defined about what they want to achieve. There is also a huge issue with being properly prepared to approach an online course program--and I have witnessed many students who are simply not prepared for college because of their poor K-12 education--Dr Jim
Derek,
True, time management is such a skill and a barrier for students . They may allow time but not enough time. It is something instructors have to address. I actually have started creating Outlook calendars for courses and sending it to students. I have actually started project management techniques to help them through projects.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Christopher,
Great observations! Students do feel that their opinions are enough and don't research. Formatting is also a real problem. I was just emailing students reminding them to use headings in the papers. Why must I do that? We as instructors must set, enforce, and expect certain expectations.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Sherrilyn,
You make such a great point! I agree with you that students believe that know about the class and how to maneuver in an online course when they don't. I agree that you have to be flexible but I do think they have to understand how to manage the calendar as well as their time. In the work world, we would expect that.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
James,
Great observations. You are right, students do not have the skills to transfer to the online environment (their learning skills in the f2f course are suspect also). You have to push, prod, cheer, etc. to give students what they need to complete the course and hopefully gain skills they will use in other online courses.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
