DE Oracle @ UMUC

Your Pledge: Examples

Communicate and Fulfil Your Pledges: Examples

• Quick turnaround time when answering personal email (e.g., ≤ 2 days)
• Quick turnaround time in answering (or verifying if already answered by another student) students' questions in your administrative conference (e.g., ≤ 2 days)

Goals: Demonstrate responsiveness, accessibility, involvement, and concern -- major components of student satisfaction with online classes, whether via private or public interaction. At the same time, work towards minimizing unnecessary time answering repeat questions.

Clearly state your promised turnaround time in the Read Me First or other Housekeeping section of class, such as the "Additional Information" section of the Syllabus, first class announcement, etc.

Where relevant, you can also make your turnaround time pledge in the policy note of an "administrative" conference, or in its first main topic.

Manage your schedule and activities so you will be able to fulfil your pledges!

TIPS

Keep a log of answers to typical personal and public questions to shorten your answer time (e.g., create email templates or a Word doc you can copy answers from).

As appropriate, begin to incorporate your answers to questions into your permanent class materials to head of questions before they're asked, and as a reference to point to rather than repeat.

e.g., Convert the log into an FAQ document for your classes. The FAQ may do double duty by reinforcing your expectations of students.

Here re some sample FAQ items, courtesy of Dr. George Harding (Management Information Systems program):

• What do I need to do to get an A in this course?
• If I disagree with something a classmate says, should I keep it to myself?
• How often do I need to participate in the conferences?
• Will you post examples of completed assignments?
• How do I (technically) get my text to look like you expect it to?

e.g., Link at certain phases of the class to a focused document that addresses one common question or set of concerns typical at that phase.

For example, Dr. Mike Sweeney has a "Panic Button" in his Read Me First that links to a separate webpage in the form of a fictitious email exchange in which he addresses typical start-of-semester student concerns and at the same time heads off (with humor) students' desires to have all questions answered personally.

• Clarity and consistency on class logistics such as when you will open (or close) conferences, post new lectures, expect deliverables, etc.

Goal: Avoid confusion/frustration on the part of the students and your time spent answering unnecessary questions. More than in face-to-face classes, excellent organization is a hallmark of successful online classes.

Make sure your class schedule document and all class activities are predictable and clearly defined. Have a detail-oriented person proofread documents for you.

When posting a new item, make a (dated) brief announcement and point students to where to find the item.

To the extent possible, prepare and post all assignments and due dates before class starts. Give students the means to plan ahead. (This does not mean you cannot be flexible to make changes as appropriate.)

• Timely grading of individual (or group) work. (This may depend on length of assignment and relevance to any dependent assignments.)
• Fairness/transparency in judging homework assignments or class participation
• Fairness/transparency in grading group work

Goal: Since performance measurement/grades are probably the single biggest concern of most students, response time and transparency on assignment grading are a significant component of an equitable contract and student satisfaction.

State your promised turnaround time on grading and commenting on individual papers and exams (can be placed in announcements, in the gradebook entry itself, in housekeeping, other locations).

You can provide yourself an added incentive: an invitation to students to contact you if they don't see their grades in X days.

Design into your course a small (ungraded?) assignment within the first 2-3 weeks of class that will

• give students practice in following your stated policies for file-naming, turn-in location, writing and citation standards, etc., before a major assignment is due
• give you an opportunity to demonstrate timely feedback and your grading style/focus.

Provide detailed information on your expectations for each separate project type, such as

• Grading Rubric Sheets
• Examples (varying opinions on this!)
• Standard paragraph in Grading section of your Syllabus or elsewhere as to how you distinguish A from B from C work (relate to UMUC policy)

Provide adequate feedback on work:

• Attach grading/marking sheets - courtesey of Dr. Happ (related to rubric sheet) on graded individual assignments
• (OR) Mark up/comment on student attachments in-line, and upload file as an attachment in Gradebook
• If a group assignment, return the grading/comments sheet in the group conference area, where group members can all see it and discuss it or ask questions readily.
• Give at least occasional substantive comments on "class participation" (Conference) -type work, related to participation guidelines (e.g., in Gradebook, Edit All Grades sheet, Comments column)

• Fairness/transparency in grading group work

See above. Also, determine before class starts how you will deal with typical study group problems, e.g., resentment that some students are not doing their share of the work, and other incompatibility issues:

• State policy on group/team work and grading up front
• State whether or not peer evaluation can impact an individual member's grade (see sample peer evaluation form courtesy of Dr. Michael Frank)
• Decide if students should provide you with means to evaluate individual contributions to the project?
  • discrete sections could contain preparer's name
  • document could accompany the group project to state who did what to prepare it

What You Expect Of Students (Examples)

Strategies to Communicate/Reinforce Expectations (Examples)

• High level of class interactivity.
• Substantive participation in conferences.
• Timely posting of notes in content conferences.

Goal: Get students involved: contribute to overall learning as well as a feeling of connectedness. (Proven effective in increasing overall student satisfaction with courses.)

Establish adequate incentive for class participation, e.g., ~10-20% of course grade.

Clearly state Participation grade and guidelines in Syllabus or other obvious location.

"Close" conferences after a defined expiration date by making them "Read Only" (and edit the title to indicate "Closed.")

Divide overall participation grade into discrete, spaced-out assignments with definable grades (e.g, 1-2% of course grade at a time). Use Gradebook to regularly enter grades and comments for these to let students know whether they are meeting expectations.

• Use email only for personal concerns, not for questions that might interest the entire class.
• Classmates help classmates by answering each others' questions as appropriate.

Goal: Cut down on unnecessary or repetitive instructor activity as well as increase overall communication and connectedness in the online classroom.

Clearly state email policy in a housekeeping location: e.g., "Read Me First" and/or other Housekeeping section of class such as "Additional Information" section of Syllabus.

As part of your policy, encourage students to answer each others' questions in your "Questions" or "Cyber Cafe" conference. (But do check answers for accuracy.)

When students ask non-personal questions in email, ask the student's permission to post the question/answer in your "Questions" conference.

Remind students in the "Policy Note" of the "Questions" conference that questions of general interest to the class will be answered here, not via personal email.

Occasionally remind students in Announcements: e.g., "If you need me, I'll be available in the 'Cyber Cafe conference'."

• Follow class policies regarding written/graded work.

Goal: Save instructor time and aggravation when handling student files, head off potential problems, unpleasant discussions or grade appeals.

Use clear wording and eye-catching formatting in policy statements in Syllabus or "housekeeping" document. Combine such policy statements with reminders in assignment descriptions that the class policies for written work apply (and link/point to them).