If a student is making C's - is that student successful?

This is an interesting concept -- what makes a student successful? Some students seem to be leaders and others seem quite ordinary. Do all students in your class have to make A's for YOU to feel successful? 

I guess the questions are: What's wrong with ordinary? Is the student unhappy with being ordinary? Motivation comes from the student. If a student is unhappy with academic performance, then it's my job to find out why and provide individualized instruction and guidance. If a student is happy enough with being ordinary (whether it's just in a particular course or overall across the board) then so be it. For example, I was perfectly happy to be "less than ordinary" in math, chemistry, and physics classes :-) But I was seriously unhappy with anything less than complete perfection in "soft sciences" and writing. The point is that students decide what is ordinary and whether they will accept that or not. I can't make the decision for them. But if they need or want help to excel past ordinary -- I'm already on it every time.

Student Success: Misconceptions about Time Management

When students begin considering taking online classes, most think it will be easier than campus classes. Of course they know that commuting and having to attend class on certain days and times are no longer issues. Add to that the flexibility to schedule around work hours and childcare, there just is not contest between taking online and f2f classes.

What new online students fail to realize is that, while they don't have to schedule going to class, they DO need to schedule reading, writing, studying, assignments, and discussions. Most online classes required asynchronous discussions with a minimum number of participation days per week, and often a minimum level of quality contributions. All of this takes time.

So let's compare the time factor. In f2f classes, commuting/parking/walking to the class building might take an hour. Reversing the process and arriving home adds another hour. We'll use once-a-week night classes for our example. When I taught evening classes at local universities, a quarter term class met for four hours one night a week. A semester term class met for three hours once a week. Professors expected a minimum of 6 hours of homework for undergrads and double that for graduate students.

One aspect of online learning that no one talks about is that students always factor in the precise number of hours required to sit in class when determining how many hours they will need for online learning. The fact is, though, that what they can accomplish in a 3-hour f2f class will take 3-4 times LONGER in an online class. Why? Because in a f2f class, discussions are conducted by talking and listening. This doesn't take a lot of time, nor does it take a lot of critical thinking and reflection. In an online class, this short verbal discussion time increases significantly because, rather than talking without much though, students need to WRITE their thoughts in a cohesive and precise manner for effective communication. Added to that, instead of listening to others in a f2f class, students in online classes must READ what others are communicating, reflect on the meaning and intent of those contributions, and then formulate their own responses in WRITING. All of the reading and writing takes much longer in an online class than talking/listening takes in a f2f class.  

Added all together, WITHOUT taking into consideration the reading/writing issue, that would be approximately 8-10 hours a week for undergrad students taking a night class on campus. Once the reading/writing element is added to that total, students should be prepared for approximately 10-15 hours a week working on discussions, assignments, and studying for an online class. For some reason, most students think that they can take an online class, and make A's, with only a few hours a week. They seem to simply subtract the commuting and seat time from the equation from the f2f class timeframe and think that the hours that are left is the timeframe for an online class. This is a huge mistake and can lead to failing grades and/or dropping out of online classes.

We need to find more effective ways to prepare students for time management in online classes. I'll talk about this in another blog post and in my new book (to be published next month) about student success strategies in the online classroom.

Have you had online students who expressed surprise and dismay about the amount of time needed to be successful in your class? What did you say to them and were you able to convince them to put in the required time to be successful? 

 

Online Learning: A User-Friendly Approach for High School and College Students 

Getting into the rhythm of an online course

Getting into the rhythm of an online course:

"Many experts say online learning is more challenging than its face-to-face counterpart. But as I settle into the rhythm of my online class, I'm learning that it's not necessarily the course work, but adapting to the different style of learning, that's an obstacle."

Let's assume that all online instructors reading this have been online students. What do you believe about this being a reason for students to fail or drop out?

I think time management is the #1 issue keeping online students from success.

Educators hope to slow the need for college remedial classes

Educators hope to slow the need for college remedial classes

Ricky Serna, vice-president for advancement at Northern New Mexico College, said a college can look all the way back to a student’s academic record in middle school.

Serna said he wonders how colleges can help students catch up when they are far behind. “How do we take them from seventh-grade reading and writing and math skills to grade-13 skills over the course of two semesters if it hasn’t been able to occur over the past four years [of high school]?”

There are a lot of good ideas in this article. How does your school handle students who are just not ready for college level academic work and do you think it's effective?

What do you think would work?

Students' Misconceptions about Time Management

When students begin considering taking online classes, most think it will be easier than campus classes. Of course they know that commuting and having to attend class on certain days and times are no longer issues. Add to that the flexibility to schedule around work hours and childcare, there just is not contest between taking online and f2f classes.

What new online students fail to realize is that, while they don't have to schedule going to class, they DO need to schedule reading, writing, studying, assignments, and discussions. Most online classes required asynchronous discussions with a minimum number of participation days per week, and often a minimum level of quality contributions. All of this takes time.

So let's compare the time factor. In f2f classes, commuting/parking/walking to the class building might take an hour. Reversing the process and arriving home adds another hour. We'll use once-a-week night classes for our example. When I taught evening classes at local universities, a quarter term class met for four hours one night a week. A semester term class met for three hours once a week. Professors expected a minimum of 6 hours of homework for undergrads and double that for graduate students.

One aspect of online learning that no one talks about is that students always factor in the precise number of hours required to sit in class when determining how many hours they will need for online learning. The fact is, though, that what they can accomplish in a 3-hour f2f class will take 3-4 times LONGER in an online class. Why? Because in a f2f class, discussions are conducted by talking and listening. This doesn't take a lot of time, nor does it take a lot of critical thinking and reflection. In an online class, this short verbal discussion time increases significantly because, rather than talking without much though, students need to WRITE their thoughts in a cohesive and precise manner for effective communication. Added to that, instead of listening to others in a f2f class, students in online classes must READ what others are communicating, reflect on the meaning and intent of those contributions, and then formulate their own responses in WRITING. All of the reading and writing takes much longer in an online class than talking/listening takes in a f2f class.  

Added all together, WITHOUT taking into consideration the reading/writing issue, that would be approximately 8-10 hours a week for undergrad students taking a night class on campus. Once the reading/writing element is added to that total, students should be prepared for approximately 10-15 hours a week working on discussions, assignments, and studying for an online class. For some reason, most students think that they can take an online class, and make A's, with only a few hours a week. They seem to simply subtract the commuting and seat time from the equation from the f2f class timeframe and think that the hours that are left is the timeframe for an online class. This is a huge mistake and can lead to failing grades and/or dropping out of online classes.

We need to find more effective ways to prepare students for time management in online classes. I'll talk about this in another blog post and in my new book (to be published next month) about student success strategies in the online classroom.

Have you had online students who expressed surprise and dismay about the amount of time needed to be successful in your class? What did you say to them and were you able to convince them to put in the required time to be successful? 

Five Steps to Writing an A+ Assignment

How many times have you put off writing an assignment until 1 or 2 hours before the deadline on Sunday night in an online class? You're not alone; this happens to everyone every now and again. When this happens every week, then an intervention is in order. Here are some quick and easy steps to completing classwork on time and with A+ quality.

Step 1: Read the assignment carefully. Make a list of each question or requirement. List the required reading and any outside resources you need to complete each item on the list.

Step 2: Start writing. Refer to the assignment list to organize your thoughts and ideas. When you have finished, refer to the required readings and make notes of information you can use in each paragraph to support what you wrote.

Step 3: Review your draft and compare with the list so that your information is organized according to the assignment instructions. Rearrange as needed and insert material from your required reading notes. Do be sure to cite properly so that you do not plagiarize information from the readings.  

Step 4: Proofread and edit carefully. The best way to proofread is to read out loud, starting at the end, one paragraph at a time. It's helpful to get someone else to read over your work for clarity and organization.  

Step 5: Type up a clean copy of your assignment; format the paper as indicated by your professor; and submit on time.

Following these steps will help you complete the assignment on time with the required information. What other strategies do you use that have worked to help you get assignments completed properly and on time? What are some of the challenges that get in the way of writing A+ class assignments?