Get Your Students Hired
Antoinette,
You make a great point. Many forget that time passes in an online course. A course in 5 1/2 weeks doesn't allow much wiggle room.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Janet,
I like the idea of providing a list of good behaviors. So many times, we focus on negative. Great post!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Janet,
You are right. We have to make them responsible for their time and effort. I have trouble with students telling me they tried. . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Molly,
You have pretty much described many students. Trying to get students into routines of an online course is so important.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Cyndy,
What a great idea. I like the idea of online study buddies. They need to know there are others out there.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Tanya,
Great posts! I do think it is a good idea to set what I call "hard dates" that seem to hold constant.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kimberly,
Great! I am toying with the idea of setting one of my courses as project management and have them set completion dates of assignments based on assignments. I will share if it works. . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Detra,
You are so right! It is the reading that "trips" them up isn't it. How do we get them to read stuff?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Shelly,
Yes, students think they are good writers and that it is their opinion that matters. They have to understand in the real world their opinion only counts if it is cited with facts. This happens in every classroom!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Errol,
You make a great point. In f2f the teachable moments may come to a class, in online teaching, teachable moments may be more personal and/or one on one.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Darcy,
That is a great point. Do you have a strategy to re-engage the learner that is behind? I have used a contract to set them back on pace. It holds them to expectations.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
roger,
You make a great point. In f2f we often review the assignment and highlight portions. In online, many times we just point them to the assignments tab and let them go.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Cynthia,
True, when rushed, students make major mistakes that cost more points that the lateness. I too like the idea of giving an estimate of how much time an assignment will take. I haven't always done that either and I think it is a great idea.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kathy ,
I agree. Many don't keep their online schedule with the other schedules and items "sneak up" on them. Good post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Eric,
That can be the case. It is important that your expectations in the online course is followed through. . . by you! Great post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
A common pitfall that I see with online students is underestimating the amount of time necessary to complete assignments. Unfortunately the only way to know how long it will take to complete an assignment is to actually work through it. Therefore, I stress the importance of getting started early and budgeting for more time than they think is necessary. Procrastination is another pitfall that I commonly see. Again, here I try to encourage students to get started early, even if they need to give themselves incentives. Also, trying to increase overall student engagement in the class in another way in which I try to help with procrastination.
Kevin
One of the major pitfalls that I have noted is students’ believing they are great communicators and leaders on a team. Some exhibit confusion and anger when team members respond adversely to their overbearing and authoritative ways when leading efforts on the team. As a proactive measure, I share techniques on how team leaders and team members should communicate when working together on a project. Sharing the techniques at the beginning of the class session improves the ability of online students to avoid some of the pitfalls of being a team leader such as becoming overbearing when collaborating and communicating with others, not listening to others, gaining consensus, working together to address conflict within the team, and other pitfalls.
Another pitfall that I have seen online students falling into is underestimating the effort and commitment required when taking an online class. One of the techniques that I employ is to communicate the expectations of the class and tasks and then provide insights on the amount of effort needed when striving to achieve the objectives of the task. In addition, I send out reminders of the due dates and an overview of the expectations. In the end, communicating the class objectives, the effort required to complete tasks, as well reminding students of tasks expectations and due dates has improved student awareness about the time and effort required to be successful at fulfilling the objectives of the online class.
Hi Dr. Crews,
My observation is that students under estimate the required effort for an online environment. I teach some entry level courses, and for many students, this is their first course. Although they have been educated by the school on what to expect, some students choose to follow their own expectations. It’s my job to remind them, constantly, on what it takes to succeed in online learning. I’m fortunate to have been an online learner as well, so I can relate to what they are going through, and the challenges of balancing work, school, and life.
I see my students as just not really understanding basic computer skills. This gets them frustrated and they want to give up.
I also think they are not good managers of time and wait until the last minute to get things done. Then they get frantic when things happen, such as computer issues, and they can't get their work on time.
The pitfall I see students falling into is under estimating the task. To help student I provide a general overview of the assignments and the expectations I have. Also, providing words of encouragement.