Well, this was my first week of classes and all things
considered, it went remarkably smoothly for me and about 95 percent of my
students though there were a few glitches. Turns out my bright idea for separate
google Gmail accounts for correspondence with each course does not work very
well for large classes given Gmail’s mailout restrictions on personal accounts
and my own university’s spam filter so I guess I am going to have to use my
course mail mailer on D2L which is a bit cumbersome but it will have to
do. Most students appeared to get started on self-directed web based learning reasonably well. This is the approach I have opted for with informal office hour type Zoom sessions where there can be some personal interaction and questions answered.
A couple of things for your amusement based on this week's observations.
1) About 5 percent of the students generate 90% of your email. However, that can be a lot of email when you have 150 students and the same ones email you multiple times to make sure you got their message.
2) Many students do not read the course plan provided or
anything else it seems including the instructions sent by the university.
3) I think a lot of students do not realize the size of the classes they are in, the limits of technology, and the limits to an instructor’s ability to deal with their issues:
Some examples:
"Looking at the course plan for your class and of my other classes all of the quizzes for Economics clash with my Marketing's quizzes. I hope we can find a solution on how to fit both course requirements to my schedule. If it helps Thursdays I'm free by 3:00 p.m. and Fridays my schedule is clear."
By the way, this was received after I told them in a revised course plan that there would now be a 24-hour window for getting your "1-hour "quizzes back. It is a class of 130 students by the way…
Or, how about this:
"Thank you for your email. I had a question, do the activities on Mindtap count toward our final grades?"
While mindTap can be used for assessment, I have not done that. Again, it is important to read the instructions that come
with the course. The Course Plan says 4 quizzes and a final and Mindtap
is a study guide resource for yourselves to help you learn on your own.
“I have a question. I saw you posted the sample questions and quiz for the week 1. I wonder which one we need to submit? And how to do that? Thank you!”
But they are sample quizzes with the answers at the back for your own practice. Why would I give you a sample quiz and the answers and then ask for it back?
“I have registered for the course ECON 1100. Can you please tell me the timings of the class? as it is not showing in my course link website.”
It is a web-based course – i.e., in an earlier day and age
it probably would be called a “reading” course. There are no class times. Perhaps students are confused by language such as synchronous and asynchronous learning (I know I am). Not sure how the type of stuff is being communicated to them.
Some other ones:
“I was wondering if there is the possibility of completing one of your scheduled quizzes at a date which is earlier than specified. More specifically, I am referring to Quiz #2, if this makes a difference with anything. I would be looking to complete it a week earlier on the 14th or 15th of October. Obviously I am aware the material would be the same”
Again, this is a class of 130 and not a seminar course of 10 or 20.
In response to an informal Zoom Meeting invite for a short voluntary non-mandatory “ informal office hour/getting to know you” session set for 11 am on a Monday:
“I may not be able to attend. As I work M to F 8 to 4pm.”
This was followed by a request from the student for a
recording of the session and a link to it be sent. To the student’s credit, upon further
explanation, they realized that recording what are essentially interactions
with other students in a question and answer session was understandably not a
good idea. There is indeed learning
behavior on the part of students.
And my personal favorite:
“Will future all meetings happen on this day/at this time? I ask because I have nine hours of lectures starting at 11:30 on Mondays”
My sympathies are all with the student on this one. What kind of Zoom lecture scheduling on the part of a university is that?
It is going to be a draining first term.