In an accelerated schedule such as ours (5 week terms) and teaching courses (ENG) where no student actually majors in that concentration, creates many obstacles and challenges when it comes to student engagement online. However, over the years I have learned that stressing writing is a skillset anyone can improve upon with time and practice, writing is a process meant to evolve over several drafts and not be perfect the first time, and that's my job to help them improve.... lifts a great deal of that weight off their shoulders. That's important especially in online -- constantly stressing in lectures, messages, announcements -- that I am there to help them but communication is key. Faculty are not mind readers and can not fill that void of misunderstanding if students don't communicate their needs. How do we do that? Persistence. Students will still fall through the cracks because they refuse to take any responsibility for their education, BUT most will try really hard if they know someone is watching their progress and genuinely cares.
