Sabrina Segal CHEP

And then there are software issues:

And then there are software issues:

Most recently, a spate of Excel errors sought to derail Statistics students in Week 5. An add-in called Data Analysis Tools was malfunctioning. Three faculty members reported the problem to the lead and each came up with different possible solutions to mitigate the technical issue. In this case, if each had failed to communicate to the lead, a pattern would not have been recognized and never addressed on a universal level. Several sets of workarounds were established for the particular tech issue.

In a proactive move, the Statistics team is researching workarounds for each assignment so that a glitch in software does not stop a student from successfully completing the work and mastering the concepts. Once the list of "fixes" has been researched, the list will be distributed to course faculty, leaving them a ready-to-use solution for a student tech problem. No lag time, just a quick answer for a student who is struggling, discouraged, or frustrated.

Perhaps the most common student technical impediment is lack of internet access. Depending on the situation, there are a number of solutions.

• Free wifi at places like Starbucks (for laptop users)
• Free, trial or low cost temporary internet: http://www.free-internet.name/country/United-States/
• Public computers (libraries, community colleges)
• Internet cafes or pay by the hour services for students who are traveling

Communicate with the student and find out if any of the solutions can work for them. Open up dialogue and work together to overcome. You need to be smarter than the obstacle. Use your critical thinking skills to outsmart technology. Sometimes all it takes is a quick internet search of free service or other temporary solutions in the student's area. You are the highly educated individual in the relationship, use that to your advantage; take the time to be part of the solution NOT part of the problem.