Hannah and Patricia,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. I try to be proactive and I contact students who "disappeared" for a week or several days. Blackboard, the LMS I use, has statistics that I can review to see when students have logged in last and how long they were logged in at that time. If students haven't logged in for some time, I email and/or call. Thanks for your question.
I usually try not to wait. If a student becomes MIA, I contact them the very next week. Obviously it is with a tone of compassion and encouragement, but I find if I wait until the 2nd or 3rd week of non participation they may feel as if it is too much of a mountain to catch back up in the course.
Patricia and Hannah,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. I don't accept late work (and - by the way - neither does my boss - life lesson), but I know many people to accept late work. I do give an option for a missed exam. If they miss one exam, whatever they get on the final exam (which is typically comprehensive and harder) counts as the final exam grade and the missed exam grade. So, there are options. Thanks for your input.
Tim,
Sounds like you have a system that works for you. You are right in the fact that if we wait too long, there is too much to make up OR i my case (I don't allow late work) they can't make it up. Thanks for your input.
Thanks for posting this and to your colleague Shannon, in our day and age there is always going to be something crazy going on in our students lives.
This helps them understand the rules of the real world but also lets them know we aren't totally devoid of human compassion. I might have to test it out!
Cally,
Again, we find something new to try. Thanks again for sharing.
We use Acrobat Connect for our "live sessions" and typically we have @ 10% of the student population actively participate, but the sessions are recorded/archived. There is also a weekly spreadsheet that we submit to the Department which is reviewed and followed up on by myself and SA's to determine the validity of and/or the reason for their absence of work submitted. The class in only 5 weeks, so staying on top of the situations is critical.
Mark,
I enjoy Adobe Connect and use it for many reasons. If you are teaching in 5 weeks, you have to connect quickly. Thanks for sharing.
Good post, Patricia! I have also given the benefit of the doubt first- sending the initial inquiry with a concerned tone rather than judgmental or critical. You just never know! It helps to be understanding first, before critical, since you do not know the circumstance. Indeed you have to look out for the false excuses, however that is something that will probably always happen with certain students.
Kelly and Patricia,
Thanks the your input. We do have to have compassion and try to understand where the students are coming from and what all is involved in their circumstances. We do have to be smart also and identify "real" vs. "false" situations. Thanks!
I try very hard to do the same thing when I see a pattern that does not look right with a student. I have been surprised and humbled a few times with the stories that I have heard. I just try to be an understanding person and give them the benefit of the doubt in those situations. The results have been positive.
Jeremy,
Your compassion is a good thing. We do have to understand the individual and not be stereotypical. Thanks for your input.
Patricia,
I agree with you that there are a lot of issues that a student may have that has nothing to do with the classroom and sending an email to the instructor is about the last thing on his/her mind at the time. I like you make sure that my inquiry is one of trying to help and not wagging my finger at the student for not doing the work, etc.
Frances
Frances,
You are right. We many times have no idea what the students may be going through in their lives and, on the flip side, they don't know what all we are dealing with either. Thanks!
For my on ground classes I require a student who has an excuse for being MIA to actually bring in some sort of proof before I'll allow them to make up late assignments and exams or making them exempt from Class Participation grades during the times they were absent. The burden of proof is on them and I'm open minded and I often see jury duty summons, hospital bills, Doctor's letters. If they can't produce somes sort of proof, I won't allow the make-up work.
How do you handle this for your online classes?
Same here. I have always found a letter of concern to be most effective in promoting student engagement. Whether it is from poor performance on an assignment or not responding to a discussion question in a timely manner, this method of communication almost always works for me in my online classes. Using these early during the course will also make it easier for the student to get back on track!
Walt,
I don't accept late work at all. However, for tests, if they miss one test, I let them use the final exam grade for the final exam and the test they missed. This works for me.
Troy,
We have to do what we can to help students stay on track or get back on track. Communicate is important during this process. Thanks!
