Developing Non-Technical Skills
In your online course, how do you help students become good online citizens?
Students are expected to participate in weekly discussion on different topics. The guidelines for responding to the discussion topics are explined in the course syllabus and I reiterate what the expectiations are in my welcome announcement the first week of class. I encourage students to proofread their work and ask that they elaborate and be respectful when replying to classmates posts. The concept of plagiarism is also explained in the announcements and in my welcome email. Any student that plagiarize is educated on how to avoid being in that perdicament, initially, and avised that plagiarsim can lead to expulsion from school.
@kellywilkinson : Hi Kelly, at the beginning of a course, I post an announcement explaining professionalism and the expectations for the class. I also provide an explaination of plagirism and an example on how to cite. Luckily the school where I teach offer a writing lab for student to help with their writing skills. There have been times where a student plagiarized their work and I have to reach out to them. Of course they denied it but after I provided an example of their work and an example from the website, the wording was exactly the same. If thise cases, I do allow student to redo their work (I edit their grade but they can not make above a 'C") but if the same student Plagirizes a second time, I have to report them to the school. The first attempt puts them (the student and school) on notice but the second attempt can result in dismissal from the school.
I believe that the process of creating good online citizens starts with setting clear expectations early and referring back to them often when assessing student process. Part of these expectations should include the student seeking assistance and guidance if they are not clear on what is expected of them.
Helping students understand the CoP is crucial in an online environment. The first step is to reiterate the social conduct associated with building community within the course.
Explain to the students it is okay to express their opinions yet they must be mindful to also respect the opinions of others and learn to agree to disagree. This process includes expressing thoughts in a non offensive manner and being open to other perspectives.
I encourage participation with myself and their classmates in our discussion board forums. I show them examples of "good" student participation. I also encourage them to join our many networking groups and teams available at our college. Each class has the option to assign students to small groups for study sessions, even if a group assignment is not required. I offer this for each session as well.
Students must be given clear, professional, and appropriate communication defining what it means to be a good citizen in your class by communicating to them specifically:
• what constitutes academic integrity in your class,
• what reading and writing skills are required in your class,
• what is expected in your class about the quality of their work (rubrics),
• what level of participation from each student is expected in your class,
• and, how they can become involved in a community of practice in your class.
All of these will help to promote good online citizenship from each student in the class unit.
I post the honor code in the syllabus, and explain the principles in the first class. Going through the syllabus the first class usually helps student to understand what we are looking for in the class submissions.
Perry
I prepare my students to be good online learners by setting the parameters of what is expected as far as insightful comments and common courtesy when writing. I want to ensure the proper tone is created in their online writings and that other students are not offended. These parameters are spelled out in numerous places including the syllabus and in various announcements. In addition to expectations on insightful comments and common courtesy, I also provide information on the frequency of participation online, the importance of academic honesty and that plagiarism will not be tolerated. Reinforcing these parameters throughout the course is one way to help my students to become good online learners.
Brandon,
Thanks for your input. I agree with you; it is base on expectations and holding students to those expectations. Students will be better for it and will learn what they need to learn.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
At the end of the day it comes down to the "classroom" (in this case a virtual one) being rules-based. In my field it may be a bit easier as I work w/in a professional military education environment, so we're starting out w/ a rules-based CoP. I guess in other non-professional environments an instructor may have to, or want to, try and coach better citizenry of a problem student, but again at the end of the day there must be rules - - clearly laid out from the outset - - and failure to follow them must have consequences.
Gail
These are great strategies. I really think they are smart. Several years ago I developed a general discussion board where students could ask questions. Before they emailed me the question they had to post it on the discussion board. If a student answered it correctly, both students got points. It does work, it decreases my emails and students developed community.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
In my opening email I encourage students to read the course syllabus, "How to score well on your Assignments and Discussions" and "Avoiding Plagiarism". These tools are available to the student 24/7 as they are part of the LMS used. I also encourage them to share their ideas with each other and to ask questions at any time.
I also, give guidelines on what the expectations are when they post in the discussion boards. For the most part, the students follow the guidelines but there are always those that fall back to using text or face book language.
Stephanie,
What a commitment you make to your students. You do need to model the skills and actions you want your students to exhibit. They need to know how to use those tools.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
In the online classroom, I think it is all about setting clear expectations from the get go, being a good model and providing sound examples. I teach a first term success class and hold an overview call the first week of class which highlights examples of good, better and best posts. In that call, I discuss why these are good, better and best and some of the key details students should pay attention to when creating a discussion post. Many students are so new to online learning that they need a role model or guide to "show the ropes" which is why I try to arm them with as many of the necessary tools as possible.
Amy,
I agree with you. I actually kept the article that appeared this summer about a Senate candidate in Wyoming who withdrew from the race because he plagiarized his master paper at War College. That is a way to "wake up" students to realize this is serious. BTW, a college president was removed several years ago as he plagiarized a paper.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Your question prompted me to think about the meaning of the word "citizen." In addition to the many good responses in this forum, I feel that students need to understand specifics about plagiarism. This includes understanding the definition and consequences for such activity. Many "teachable moments" arise and when students have the information they need, they are usually more than willing to follow the guidelines.
Tamara ,
Great strategies. There was a candidate for the US Senate in Wyoming that withdrew his name for the seat because he had plagiarized his master's thesis in the War College.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I believe the key to helping students to become good online citizens is to set the expectation for good citizenship right out of the gate. A few methods I use include:
1. Writing a bit about being a supportive, positive participant in the course expectations announcement on my home page.
2. Verbally discussing what happens when someone is not supportive and positive (how that makes others feel and how I must address the individual who is being negative).
3. Praising supportive/constructive discussion board posts or encouraging interactions during lectures.
4. Providing an example through my own positive posts and communications. I've actually had students tell me "I thought the way you handled what that guy said was really great--you turned a negative comment into a positive reflection--I am going to borrow that phrase to use at my workplace!"
From there, it is just a matter of carefully monitoring your classroom and being consistent with your feedback. Students (for better or worse) are keeping score of what is said to whom. They are always appreciative when classroom expectations are not only clearly defined--but also when they are managed equitably.
Anita,
You may want to develop a start here video and document so students know expectations such as the one ones your mentioned up front. It should go through the syllabus and reiterate the important aspects of the course. During the course, I would continue to direct students to look at the start information.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
