Many Students Enroll in Classes They Are Not Ready For
Online Students are adults with personal and professional obligations. Sometimes, some of these students ignore the realities of their situation and register for classes that they do not have enough time to participate in.
Augustine,
The realities of life and the school of hard knocks are sometimes the most valuable and cost effective learning experiences. In many ways, the onous of responsibility for preventing the misalignment of student desires and competency level required for the online course falls on the shoulders of the instructional designer and the instructor scheduled to facilitate the delivery of the course material. As a part of the course description, it would be helpful to include a set of guidelines for the perspective student to follow (Prerequisites of courses, work experience, basic expectations of skill level requirements. etc.)and to use as a measurement in determining his or her reasonable fitness or prepardness prior to scheduling the class. If this were done more frequently and proactively, it may very well have an impact on the problem by reducing the number of opportunities for such misalignment to occur.
KIM,
We do tend to live in a hurry up society. Fast food, quick oil changes, minute clinics, people do like instant gratification.
Shelly Crider
Itis a shamethat in todays world we find ourselfs in a state of do it as quick as we can even if that means skip a step. It used to be take some time test to see if we retain and if successful move on. moving so fast we do not retain the current and try to rush through it as fast as we can.It is very easy to leap frog over things we say I know that.
Manol,
Any guidance for the student is one more resource for them. Excellent tip!
Shelly Crider
I usually open with an announcement providing guidance with time management techniques. Many students find it helpful.
Christopher,
I teach computer classes and I get the message from students often about how they wish they would have known about Microsoft Word's ability to help with APA and MLA style.
Shelly Crider
I have found in my online education that i was sign up for a class in witch i was going to be using excel sperd sheet. I havent used excel in years unless someone had already made the sheet. so the point is; no where in the early class was excel taugh or even used. but when i got in to the class we need it the teach just figured we all knew how to use and make sheet. I took the time to go on line and reteach myself. But is this really me not ready or poor plain or maybe even poor managment of classes that no one saw this coming. many student failed the asign ment as they could not make the math work. maybe it isnot the student but an over sight from the school. This is where the school need to take the ownership and fix the problem.
Nancy,
Photoshop has many tutorials. You may want to add this tutorial to your week one assignments.
Shelly Crider
Hi,
I have many students in my design classes (where Photoshop competency is required) who do not even have the software needed to complete the assignments. There are also a number of students who have the software but have no idea on how to use even the most basic features. As a result much of my time in the class is teaching photoshop rather than the intended material. There are photoshop classes but for some reason many students have not completed them before coming to my class. I feel all involved are negatively impacted when this happens.
Thank you,
Nancy
Jennifer,
It never hurts to review the English language especially in a very technical society...."no wt i mn"!!
Shelly Crider
I find this to be very true in the realm of online teaching that I do. I will have students email me (as if texting on their phones) asking how to attach a document to the drop box or how to get to a certain link (when they are all linked together). I think it's fundamental that every online program have a "Intro" course to navigating the online classroom. I also think a basic "How-To" session is critical when reminding student of proper grammar, spelling and professionalism in the online classroom.
I have found that many students register for one or more online classes in a term when they have amny personal obligations that take much of their time. I try to work with these students via e-mail and give them as much encouragement as I can to help them work through the course in an effective way while still meeting their personal obligations. I try to be flexible on the deadlines for their Individual papers while encouraging them to make their discussion board participation top priority so that they can gain as much benefit from the DBs as possible in the current week. Close contact through e-mail seems to help students who are balancing personal demands and class assignments and deadlines.
Alfred,
Exactly! A student can become very anxious when faced with something they are uncomfortable with.
Shelly Crider
Especially when these courses require using programs they may not be all that familiar with and need training.
Al
tycie,
Even a pretest as part of an orientation is nice to see!
Shelly Crider
Nancy ,
Oh yes....math is so "cut and dry"!! Students think it will be a piece of cake.
Shelly Crider
We must also consider the notion that many programs have a predetermined path of courses students must take pertaining to their programs. As a result, students may indeed enter courses that they are not prepared for, but what choice do they have? Perhaps for English and Math classes, there should be a preassessment and if students do not fair well, they must take a "refresher" course prior to taking the course.
I don't understand how this is possible when most students are required to take preliminary courses that build into more advanced ones. I have experienced is that adult students do not understand the challenges associated with (returning) and online education. This misunderstanding of challenges is often a reason for their failure when they first returned to the classroom.
Nelson
Nelson Stewart, PhD
How true this is. In mathematics I find some students enroll in a course without a clue about the contents of the course. For example, I teach a mathematics course for potential teachers. Even though I post an announcement explaining the content of the course, many students believe the course is a pedagogy course. But it is a mathematics course. Many are not ready for the mathematics course.
