For several years now, I’ve been building and maintaining a SharePoint-based web site to support all of the courses I teach. Among the tools available, each course has its own “links†area, and students are shown on the first day of class how to access my web site and choose the appropriate ‘links’ page for their course. The list of links can be expanded throughout the course, but the link to the course syllabus and standard course components on my site remain available all term long. Some classes have their own wiki area (they LOVE using this for collaborative work), other courses have their own online discussion area, and some courses are provided with their own ‘shared files’ area. All files have an ongoing ‘activity list’, which shows class activities, assignments, upcoming exams, and due dates. I rely on it myself to recall what I’ve scheduled and planned.
Students submit completed work to a specified area or list on the site, and, since our school establishes logins for each student, I can set the permissions so students each only see their own postings, but, as the instructor, I see the list of all items that have been submitted. Once students get the hang of it, it’s an INCREDIBLY helpful way for them to submit work (and I know exactly when it was submitted). Also, students have an online copy of their work files should the worst occur.
One drawback I’ve noticed is that recently (within the last year or two) students don’t seem as interested in visiting the course site or participating in online course discussions. I think it may be the layout of the sites or forums, combined with the expectation that the site(s) act in ways similar to ‘social’ networking sites to which they’ve become accustomed.
So, I’m curious if anyone’s been successful in using or integrating sites such as facebook or services such as twitter as forms of course management or class communication?
