Battling student tech issues
Computer issues abound. 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 one had failed to communicate to the lead, there would not have been a pattern and odds are it would never have been 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" have been researched, that list will be distributed to all course faculty so they have a ready-to-use solutions 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 travelling
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 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.
Aundrea,
We all live with the same scenario don't we? You don't have to know everything just know where to help them find help. That is the key. Great post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Battling tech issues of any sort seems to be the nature of the beast we call technology. My students experience tech issues every semester; however, there are various reasons for the issues. We typically inform the students to update their browser and clear out the cookies first. More often than not, the issue is resolved at this point. If not, I typically contact our network provider since it seems that the issue is more widespread that initially anticipated. I agree that we must be smarter that the obstacle, and I have on many occasions worked around the issue by using short term resolutions for the problem until the larger issue is fixed. This helps keep the students from being frustrated while the larger problem is being addressed.
Kimberly,
You make great points. Why do you think we tolerate "no Internet" in an online course and let students sign up for classes with no internet and they expect us to understand. I don't!!! I would penalize a f2f student if they missed two weeks of class by not showing up. When did we change the expectations.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hi Sabrina,
Computer malfunctions are a major issue for online students. I am constantly receiving email messages from my student that their internet service is down, turn off, etc. I even had a student tell me that she would not have service for a couple of weeks (class had just started). I offer suggestions that you mentioned: local library or Starbucks/McDonalds, or a friend or family member and sometimes they might respond with “I don’t have transportation to get to these placesâ€.
I often time work with my students so that they can complete and submit their work but I wonder how can a student enroll in an online program and not have working internet. The Course has just started and he or she is already behind.
I’m lenient the first week of class with grades but I communicate in Weeks 2-5 (5 Week course) that points will be deducted for late submissions but to always submit the work because it is better to have points deducted than to receive a “0â€.
Rosalind,
I will be honest with you, I struggle with this! I think this sets student up for failure. It also takes away from the power of online education. Do you push them to the phone? Do you provide printed material? Does this begin to sound like a a regular correspondence course? Just some thoughts. . . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello Sabrina,
I too have encountered several students who do not have ready access to the internet. I also refer them to the free internet locales. I find the student is more responsive when I speak to them via phone and assist them working out their challenges. I also ask the student to give a verbal commitment as to when they will go to the locations with internet services and complete their assignments. To ensure the student has done what they stated, I let the student know I am going to give them a follow up call to discuss how successful they were in completing their assignments.
cindi ,
It really can be a challenge. I am shocked how many students take online courses that don't have internet access nor do they have a computer. That just seems you are setting that student up for failure.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I have also found lack of internet access to be a big impediment to students. I don't know of any students that have tried internet cafes or pay by the hour services, a couple have used Starbucks in emergencies but that requires you be an ATT DSL customer (at least around here) since Starbucks is an ATT DSL hotspot. All of our students are required to take classes on campus as well as online, so they do have access to the computers in the schools' computer labs. Several students have attempted to use computers at the public library to attend synchronous chats but that is usually problematic; since we have multiple campuses spread out across 2 (or 3 depending on the time of year) time zones, students at a library in Delaware might have to logoff at 8:45 pm their time when the chat hasn't even started yet because it's only 5:45 pm in Tuscon.
The other common technical impediment I frequently see is device incompatibility. Most of the areas of our virtual classroom require Adobe Flash and Flash is incompatible with nearly all Apple products.
Sabrina,
Wow, what a great post and great points. We don't have to be alone when there is a technical problem and we do need to report them instedad of just complaining. It does help the students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
