There are many pitfalls that students falls into. It is important that students understand the pitfalls so that they are successful. Some of the pitfalls are procrastination, time management, and thinking they can do everything.
It is important that as a student the goal that you set up is realistic.
Time management is a huge pitfall for the online learner. Many online students have families and full time jobs and quickly fall behind in school. I recommend designating quiet time each week for school work and getting enough sleep. It doesn't do much good to study until 3 am while sleep deprived. Give yourself completion goals such as have the Discussion Board submitted by Wednesday and the Individual Project on Saturday. This makes it feel less overwhelming.
They do not have a clear understanding of the time that needs to be devoted to the learning and course commitment. Our school provided tutors, at no charge to the students, extra learning activities are available I encourage them to have fellow study bubbies on line with the other students. I am afraid that they think of online courses as a quick fix... and no effort is needed.
Not reaching out for help... and notifying the instructor that they are drowning... is always baffling to me as well despite the constant reassurance that I am willing to assist.
Last... Read the announcements.... read the instructions... take your time ...is the best thing to do.... It is there if you will read carefully.
The biggest pitfall my students have trouble with is time management. I typically teach developmental math courses, and many students do not do well managing their time. They don't realize how long it takes to learn the material as well as the homework and quizzes.
The first week of my course I hold a live chat session with a weekly timeline. I stress the importance of pacing themselves throughout the week as well as everything that needs to be done: Reading Assignment, Practice Problems, Studying, Homework, Quiz, Chats, Office Hours, etc.
For those students who attend, they find it very helpful!
Probably procrastination is the most frequent pitfall that I encounter. Students typically wait until late Sunday to take tests or do assignments that are due by midnight. They underestimate the amount of time needed and rush to complete the work.
Then they have a variety of excuses to explain their poor grades or late submissions.
Basically I try to reinforce the concept that their career goals hinge on their academic success and that employers are unlikely to accept excuses for tardiness. I stress that the time to develop good habits is in the classroom.
I obviously take off points for late submission.
I agree that early engagement in the course is the most likely pathway to success and I try to reinforce that with examples of students who successfully completed this course did the following:... Then I provide a list of "good behaviors".
The pitfalls I see in my online students are the following :
1. Procrastination
2. Not reviewing recorded Live Chats for updated course content
3. Lack of communication
4. Poor time management skills
I try to help them "get out of the pit" by reiterating the importance of submitting coursework on time. I also stress that communication is key to making it through the course effectively. A little communication can go a long way, especially in a 5 1/2 week course.
The pitfalls I see mostly are procrastination and under-estimating the amount of time necessary to complete an assignment. When I see this happening I send out an email reminding students work is missing or due. This usually works for me.
Marie Moran
The main pitfall I see my current students falling into currently are:
1. They believe they are better "writers" than they are. Some truly feel that they wrote an excellent response, and that response is, in reality, barely understandable to the most experienced reader. These same individuals often have difficulty taking constructive criticism.
2. Students often lack initiative. If it isn't specifically assigned or spelled out, they don't take the time to access and utilize all the learning tools available to them.
3. They believe that online learning is easy. Many of the high school students that I am teaching through our college's collaborative effort with a local high school felt that a college-level online accounting course was going to be easier than taking a "math" course at their high school face-to-face. They are learning that their assumption was just that - an assumption. Many have learned the hard way that they need to put more time and effort into the course.
What pitfalls do you see your online students falling into, and how do you help them "get out of the pit"?
The balancing act that a student must display, especially adult online, learners, requires experience and skill that rival a tightrope walker. Now, more than in the past, there are a large number of responsibilities that need to be tended to, and a schedule or planner can help tremendously with time management.
The main pitfall to focus on would be the tendency for students to leave quite a bit of work, for a small time period. This conclusion is arrived at through the literature provided in EL108, and through experiences from being a student. One of my former professors used to preach, 'The hardest part of any task or project is getting started' and I believe that starting an Assignment, Discussion, or any other submission, as soon as it is assigned is a great idea due to the fact that it resides in your sub-conscious and you will remember to finish what you have started. To avoid helping students fall into this pitfall, I believe that early intervention, and points/hints/tips for success in the form of Announcements and e-mail are key.
Cheers
Dr. E. Somnarain
Many students in our courses want to assume that taking this coursework is a "part-time" job, and do not allocate enough time to the requirements of the course.
Because they are given specific guidance, they tend to ignore areas for investigation and discovery that lie outside of the bare requirements of an assignment. They have tunnel vision, and are being trained, not educated.
Students also look for simple answers, and are unwilling and unable to apply critical thinking skills to their work.
In all instances, there is an effort on the instructor's part to encourage them to allocate time to their studies, and to consider education as an investment. The investment, however, is here and now, and not in the future. Students must be students and take the role seriously.
In addition, discussion boards and chat sessions are peppered with leading questions and idea challenges to take the students outside of the strict tracks of the assignment and course requirements as stated.
One of the drawbacks of over-preparing course materials, and over-structuring courses is the loss of flexibility on the part of the instructor, and the lack of demand for flexibility on the part of the students. Therefore, advice to the contrary, I believe that an open learning environment, with less structure, leads to greater challenges for students to organize their goals and their thinking, and to determine for themselves where they need to go, what they need to learn, and why they need to do it.
The pitfalls that I see the online students falling into is that Online classes are easy. That can do the homework at the last minute and anytime. From the start of class I remind them to complete assignments early because something always happens on the final day of submission.
Hello,
Many times students do not believe in themselves. I try to consistently post motivation articles and ask for feedback. Also, weekly I attempt I email the students to let them know they are doing a great job.
One of the biggest pitfalls that I see my students falling into is the perception of course discussions as "busy work". If students understand the value of course discussions, they will be better positioned to learn from the discussions. In order to help get out of the pit, I often ask follow up questions and encourage them to share their personal or professional experiences on the topic. This way they are less likely to become disengaged.
Some students lack the support they feel they need and deserve from family and friends.
Most of them have very bad time management skills.
Many pitfalls that I see students fall into is poor time management skills. Many student wait until the day the assignment is due to log into the course. Once they realize the time needed they quickly ask for an extension. In most cases, the students falls behind in their work and possible fail the course.
one of the major pitfalls i can see is that some students might pass their course easy without being challenged and would need something to help pass the time if they are one of these kind of students. if you can identify them contact them privately and see if they would be interested in playing a game or something to see if they have learned the objectives for the week.
I totally agree with so many of these responses.
The one that hit the closest to home was students thinking they are better writers than they actually are. So many times I have students who argue with me about why they received the grade they did when they felt they submitted an excellent paper. Sometimes these papers are barely readable, lack proper citation and perhaps don't even address the assignment requirements. To try to combat this I make sure to always go over, in detail, the expectations for assignments (from answering the questions that are presented to APA formatting requirements, etc.). I also provide specific feedback so that students know exactly why I gave them the grade that they did.
One of the things that has happened to me the last couple of sessions is students saying to me "My previous instructor didn't require us to cite things" or "I was never told I couldn't copy and paste from an online source". I am not sure if this is student perception or if other instructors maybe did not hold students as accountable to formatting requirements. Anyone else had to deal with this issue?
The biggest pitfall I see with my online students is that they underestimate the time that they actually need to complete their assignments. While reviewing the task requirements in the chats, I provide a conservative estimate of the amount of time needed to complete the task. This message is also posted on the course announcement board.
Roger,
Oh yes…or “I just returned from vacation and I was unaware that the session started.â€---2 weeks ago!
