Nathan,
Reality Check! You are right! Do you provide reality checks throughout the course?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I see students who fall into the mindset of underestimating the time needed to complete assignments. When they email me on Sunday afternoon with questions about starting the assignment or asking what chapters to read in the textbook (and the deadline is Sunday midnight) I recognize that they did not effectively manage their time during the week. Time management is the #1 pitfall I see students fall into.
When I see students struggling with deadlines or submitting work that seems rushed and less than “quality†I reach out to them with a personalized email. I am including a copy of this email below, as one example of what I send. Before my next session, I plan to put together a document of Time Management Techniques using some of the material learned in this training course.
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Hello John,
I just wanted to touch base with you to see how the missing IP is progressing. I am more than happy to work with you to get caught up and I encourage you to email me for assistance, or if you need clarification on assignment requirements.
Based on your decision to pursue your degree, I know that education is very important to you. I commend you for pursuing your goals, while juggling the demands of work, school and life. You should be proud of what you are accomplishing! With this in mind, I want to refer you to the Time Management Techniques document I have placed in my Instructor Files. In that document you will find some tips and techniques for managing the coursework. I do hope you find that helpful!
These assignments were developed to prepare you for responding to issues that you may see in the workplace. They have real world application and that makes this all very exciting!
I have tremendous faith in you, and I am anxious to help you continue on your journey toward that degree.
I look forward to hearing from you, and reading your work. And if you have questions or want to further discuss time management or the assignments themselves, just email me or see me during the office hours I have posted.
Have a great day!
Thanks!!
Jennifer Bertoldo
Jennifer ,
I love your idea. I agree with you regarding time management. I like how you handle it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Having read everyone's postings, I see we all have the same experience. By far, procrastination and time management are the weakest areas for students. They also assume online learning is eay and will "do it tomorrow". As I said before, we know that for them tomorrow never comes!
Prioritizing their academic commitment and setting aside a specific time (every day, week, weekend, etc.) where the household knows they cannot be disturbed (or leaving the house for the library!), may help to reinforce that they are actual students.
Time management can be improved by posting the syllabus and key dates, penalties for late assignments and even rewards for early submissions.
I also encourage my students to submit early so that the dark "work is due" cloud they feel over their head will go away and they can better enjoy their weekends!
Procrastination is the biggest pitfall I see student encountering. I try to combat student procrastination by posting frequent messages as we get close to the due date and include the consequences of delaying working on assignments. I also ask students for updates and provide incentives for students to get their work in on time. I also include a question and answer segment in an effort to address any concerns a student may have which could possibly add to their overall procrastination.
Hi Dr. Crews
I feel by emailing your online students to see how they are doing help them "get out of the pit". Also, you could ask for their phone numbers to call them and help them and cheer them up
Thanks
Alana
Alana,
I do ask for phone numbers but I don't use them. When I give phone numbers and starting using the phone, my nontraditional students quit interacting online. I also lose my trail of communication that is often used as a learning tool.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Beth,
You are right! I have now made my undergrad students provide me a time management plan with the dates due as part of their first assignment!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Tonya,
These are great ideas! You have to have multiple channels of communication!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Edna, I share your three points. They are challenges I find in my classroom. I will often find these three issues affecting a single student.
I agree that talking to students, and letting them know that it is not unusual for students to make these assumptions helps them to feel less isolated. Combating these assumptions with encouraging time management schedules is a big help for my students.
Heather,
Interesting, assumptions. I hadn't thought about it. It is important to make sure assumptions don't trump expectations.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
For students with laptops that are traveling, they can find internet at: McDonalds, Starbucks, Panerras and Applebys. Sometimes this can be useful information to pass along to them.
I should work on encouraging students to submit assignments early.
I find that student that are new to the online learning environment have different pitfalls than the student who have been in the system for awhile.
The new students are dealing with adjusting to the online classroom environment. This can include classroom navigation as well as a lack of technology skills.
They will be shocked at how intense the environment is and will have to adjust to the fact that online learning is college level learning, only often at an accelerated speed.
They often need to learn to write better to be able to communicate at a college level.
Then there is the realiztion that the assignments generally take way more time then they thought they would.
I teach in the communication design area and there is a steep learning curve for the software.
Then there is procrastination.
So helping these students takes a multipronged aproach.
-Putting up announcement for the tutoring lab helps.
-Posting specific tutorials for the software helps.
-Posting information on how to paraphrase helps.
-Encouraging students to submit rough drafts helps.
- Encouraging students that it will get easier as they adjust to the environment helps.
-emailing student and offering help when they submit late and assignment helps.
I have not tried teaching them how to create visually oriented calendars mapping their whole schedules and then mapping in specifically where they will be doing their homework yet. I will try this. It might help some of them to get organized and put their work, study, and family schedules in order.
For the students who have been in the system for a while, presenting good teaching materials and getting them excited helps and rigorous communication helps.
I think there are really many pitfalls as there are so many competing interests for our time and we only have a limited amount of time available. I usually find learners who do are not active in the early weeks most often fail to finish. The best experiences I’ve had are to get to them early with emails, phone calls, even contacting their advisors to get to that learner. Most times it does work, however and unfortunately sometimes it doesn’t. There are some cases where learners have actually failed and retaken the class and improved dramatically. I think the learner has to be the one who really understands how important this is, and until they do, there does not seem to be a lot I can do, but I can keep trying.
Time management and thinking that he or she actually has more time that really exists before the assignment is due. Everyday I receive emails from students, my project will be late for this reason or that reason. Usually it is because they did not manage time and plan for unforeseeable issues to happen.
"There is always time tomorrow to do my HW" but eventually tomorrow is here and hw is not done.
I often send out announcements or emails reminding students that the assignment is coming due. Unfortunately many have too many things balanced on his or her plate and something has to give and often it is school. I have yet to figure out how to get a person to get out of the pit other than positive reinforcement and encouragement.
Kristen
I see my students fall into a number of pitfalls. I will list a few:
1. Students think online is easy and are not prepared to work hard
2. Students are ill prepared to navigate their school's learning platform
3. Students do not secure reliable internet
4. Students do not plan for the requisite hours to study and do assignments
5. Students want to be "fed" the information, but online learning requires lots of self-motivation.
6. Students have difficulties balancing work and life.
Ways to help students not fall into these pitfalls are to give them a thorough look at what an online class entails. They should sign a technology agreement, learn to navigate the library, fill out a schedule with their advisor prior to class starting where they map out their study time and take an orientation. Instructors can add in a detailed FAQ list and reach out to those who are flailing. A personal note goes a long way to bring a struggling student back.
What pitfalls do I see my students fall into?
First, I see my students think that they can complete my course by only working one or two days per week. If they are good at math then this works, but since 80% of my students are not good at math they quickly find that this is not the case. I try to post in week one a reminder that they will need to work on this class a little everyday in hopes that they will figure this out sooner than later. This also helps those students who really do not have more time than that to give to my class. I want my students to know that they need to plan to take my class when they really have the time necessary to be successful.
Second, I see students who think that online learning is easier than in a classroom. In some ways this may be true because they are supplied with ample resources that they can access at their own pace, but for others the lack of a face-to-face setting and the need to manage their own time is detrimental. I am not sure how after years of successful online learning people still think that online classes are easier but this misnomer is still running rampant. I wish that I knew how to squelch it, but alas I have not succeeded yet. Every student just gets to learn for themselves how difficult learning online is for them. I will continue to post tips, reminders and try to teach my students what it takes to be successful, but for most students they are determined to learn the hard way. I hope to see some other great tips on the boards to help me teach my students better how to prepare!
I agree that we can only do so much, but in the end it is their responsibility and we have to let them choose.
A major pitfall I see students falling into very early in the course is underestimating the time it takes to complete assignments. They look for quick easy solutions to the unit assignments they are to complete. Their poor grades for the first assignment or two often wake them up. The most common feedback I give early on is to tell the student to take their time. Most of the work goes on before they write.
