Depending on the school you work for, this is not always an option Dr. Kelly. I am what is called a FT adjunct, as I cannot find one FT job so I have 3 PT ones and in two of those three I am REQUIRED to give my phone number and be available to students within 24 hours of their call. While this sounds like a good idea in theory, we are not teaching the student to use the numerous resources that the schools provide.
In the one school where I am not required to give out my personal info (not only our phone number, but personal email address are requirements in the other two), the school promotes helping the student to locate resources and become a more self sufficient learner, which is key to a successful online student.
I have found in the past, giving out personal info can be a bad thing because the student then becomes dependent on you to always be there and never becomes self reliant.
While I appreciate the information contained within these courses, much of the work does not pertain to for-profit schools as we are given the platform and have specific guidelines and syllabi we follow in the classroom. As well, there is no qualifications required for entry, so computer or not - computer literate or not, everyone has the opportunity to enter our schools. While this is an amazing opportunity for many, there are times that a student comes in thinking they can do all the work on their smart-phone and that can lead to challenges. When I was a Dean this was a continuous disagreement between Admissions and Education, as I suspect it will be for a long time to come. :-(
Matthew,
That is your choice and if it works for you that is great. I stopped giving my phone number out as I had nontraditional students not using the LMS and participating in discussion. You have to use what works for your courses and your students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Karen,
I am shocked when I hear students taking online courses without computers. This sets students up for failure and the pressure the instructor to help when the best help is a computer. I think we have to have frank discussions about that. I do use JING or other screen capture software. It is a great way to introduce yourself and walk them through a course. It is good practice.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Yes, learning online can be intimidating to any new student. As instructors, we need to find ways to make this transition as smooth as possible. My best practice is letting all of my students to reach out to me with any concerns/issues. In fact, I provide them with my cell phone number.
