OnlineInnovations17Feb08

Wally: It's coming back to me now how frustrating it was last year to get everybody together and reasonably engaged.

Bob: I teach an online graduate course in Critical Thinking. I eliminate most of the problems you're having by stating very clearly in my syllabus what the course requirements are. Before class actually begins, I send an email to each student welcoming the to the class and I include the syllabus. My graduate students are required to post twice a week to the Discussion Board. I do NOT accept late postings and this requirement counts for about 30% of their grade. I read each posting and often respond to students, sometimes posting a response and other times sending them an email. This really helps to create a sense of an online community. If someone starts missing postings, I email them and attempt to find out why they aren't posting. I emphasize the importance of meeting this requirement and I do give extra credit for extra postings. If Wimba poses a problem, I use the chatroom as a backup. I send out several emails in advance of any Wimba session, advising students to check out their equipment and make certain they can log into Wimba without any problems. I provide links and info to instructions on how to get into Wimba and urge then to do so in advance of the actual Wimba meeting. Sending a "welcome" email before the start of class really helps to establish good communication. I request an alternative email address for each student in the event the software fails (which it does). I also request a phone number and their address. I've never had to call a student, but if I had their phone # and they didn't respond to any emails, I would call them. My suggestion would be for you to send a copy of your syllabus to each student and make it clear what the course requirements are. Of course, it takes awhile to write a good syllabus and it's not possible to cover every conceivable situation. I also always give my students the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes they have technical or personal problems. I encourage my students to let me know they are have some experience that is preventing them from attending and participating in class. Last semester, I had a "problem" student. I set up an online conference with him using Wimba and he really turned around. I require all my students to have an online conference with me and while it take a lot of time, it's well worth it. I also require my students to collaborate on weekly assignments. It sometimes takes them awhile to learn how to collaborate with each other, but most find it to be a very rewarding experience. Hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you have questions or want more information Bob Schoenberg