My truancy wasn't anything out of the ordinary: a vacation that I'd scheduled long ago (looooong before I had the opportunity to enroll in the seminar) made it tough to do my homework. Access to the right technologies was one problem--the little tablet I had along made the type of homework I had to do an inconvenience. But there was also another important issue: priorities. Doing homework on vacation would have felt more like work than vacation, and it would have taken me away from the time with family that all of us needed after an unusually hectic year.
It seems that I'm not alone. Stanford-Bowers' study on persistence in online education concludes that for students, convenience and flexibility are major factors in their decision to enroll in online courses--and that "when course requirements and activities tend to conflict with convenience and flexibility, students tend to neglect or leave the courses" (2008, p. 48).
What can we do about it? I'm not sure. But I can tell you a little about why I'm back and chipping away at my catch-up work.
- Community. I have a few classmates who I know well and helped to persuade to take this seminar, and I want to jump back into working on this together with them and make sure that I make good on my commitments.
- Personal goals: I want to know more about how to teach online, and I believe that finishing the required experiences in the seminar will be valuable to that end.
Perhaps those motivators can be instructive to us as we design and teach online courses.
- Community. If my students disappear for a time, I may need to reach out to them personally to help them reconnect with our community--and while an email might do the trick, picking up the phone might feel more real and therefore more motivating. Perhaps classmates who know the student well can also reach out.
- Personal goals. Helping my students to identify how the course helps them meet personal goals--and giving them opportunities to revoice this along the way--may help to reinforce the value of the experience.
- Valuable experiences. The value I see in the seminar I'm taking goes far beyond a certificate or grade at the end of the road. (In fact, I'm not sure that we get either one in the end!) I've already seen that this course is designed as a series of significant learning experiences, and I want the benefit of those experiences.
- Flexibility. My instructor let me know that I'd be able to rejoin and pick up where I left off when I returned. This small move was significant in it's own way.
Love your blog, Leah! As an online instructor I find it very insightful and I have actually added some things to my own online class based on your suggestions.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned, though, by the different standard you are applying to "attendance" in an online course versus an on-campus course. Would you be "okay" with a student leaving your on campus course for a 2-week vacation? There seems to be a different standard of rigor applied to the online environment. Yes, it is convenient and flexible but at least in my course, collaborative activities are compromised if a student drops out for 2 weeks. thoughts?
Thanks for your kind words about the blog and for a great question! I'm glad for the opportunity to clarify and reflect further. As an educator I'm not okay with a student missing lengthy stretches of class, and as a student who has now experienced this for the first (and hopefully only) time, I'm not okay with it either. I made a decision based on my auditor status, on promises I'd made to my family, and on my understanding of the course requirements. But it's not a spot I want to be in again or recommend to others. Any time a student misses, it affects the full learning community, not just that learner, so in addition to the frustrations I felt about missing out and falling behind, I also regretted the impact on others--however small that might be.
DeleteYour question helps me think about some assumptions I had as a first-time online student. I had thought I would be able to make up the work in advance without issue for myself or others, but that wasn’t the case. And that's good! A great "teachable moment" learning opportunity arose just before I left on my trip, and our instructor added a project that required daily interaction as well as collaboration, which weren't previously part of the course. The project was great, and I applaud our instructor for taking advantage of the teachable moment as well as for building real collaboration into the course. What I learned, though, is that while making up readings, quizzes, and blog entries can be easy to do in advance, collaboration is not easy to “make up” at all.
Takeaways?
• Empathy. Happily for me, I was away doing something fun. But when my students miss for health problems or family issues, I can only imagine how hard it is for them to get back on track. They're behind, struggling with other issues, and may not have great study skills in the first place. This experience enhanced my empathy for them and helped me think about what I can do to encourage those students when they return—or need help deciding to return.
• Scheduling. I learned that participating in a good online course means students need to leave room for changes to the course assignments and calendar, as well as building in time for multiple connections with the class during the week. This experience reminds me that as an instructor, I’ll need to help students understand that well on the front end…and why it’s important. For example: “If you can check in only on Thursday evening, this probably isn’t the course for you; you’ll need to check in at least 3 weekdays.”
I appreciate your thoughts, Leah. Also, nice exchange of ideas between you and Pat.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I appreciate Rick's flexibility. I found out last week that the timeline for my book publication has been moved up--I may have done too good a job in preparing the final manuscript because it's being a typeset a month earlier than planned!--so I need to have the proofing and indexing done during the next couple weeks. I emailed Rick when I found out to tell him that this meant I needed to go back to book work right now, which means there are some components of the course I'm not going to be able to complete. He was gracious about it and encouraged me to continue to do what I can find time to do.
If this were a graded course that I had considered signing up for, I would have counted the cost beforehand and decided Yes I'll be able to commit to fulfilling all expectations to the best of my ability, or No this isn't going to work for me this summer. But two problems come to mind with that scenario. (1) I probably wouldn't have enrolled in the class this summer because I knew I had book work to do, which means I would have missed out on a lot of valuable things. (2) Even if we think we'll be able to do the work and keep up, unexpected things happen in life. Education doesn't occur in a vacuum. I guess that's where flexibility and empathy, from a teacher, come into play--even if we have to encourage the student to drop out, take an I, or realize lapses in participation will result in a lower grade.
I'm grateful for Rick's empathy and flexibility in dealing with students who are also faculty. Vacations and publications happen. Learning and community can happen at the same time . . . even if the coincidence isn't always perfect.
It's easy for me to be flexible with participants when I don't have to make a decision about whether or not they "successfully completed" the course. I have to do just that with the Trinity people. Of course I can be flexible about deadlines, realizing that things come up and we are all very busy. But how far can my flexibility be stretched when activities simply are not attempted and when I just don't see evidence of successful completion? Now I get to determine whether or not some people can teach an online course or not. This is not easy.
ReplyDelete