One thing I do to defuse situations like this is to allow students to make up
assignments later if the delay was due to a technological problem. I simply
ask them to provide a brief explanation of the problem when they eventually
turn in the assignment. I would include as a technological problem any
problem a student may have accessing the system, even if it is due to
ignorance on their part.
Some of them are very spooked by technology and will need some hand-
holding. I had a student come up to me after I went over the tech
requirements of the course this semester and she just directly asked me
"what is the purpose of the e-mail and the internet tutorials?" I was able to
come up with a response but it made me think that there were probably
many other students who needed to hear that. I would let them know that
the purpose of the technology is not to come between us or to act as busy
work but to help them to communicate better with me and the other students.
If they have difficulties, I ask them to explain the problem to me and I try to
show them that I am confident it can be worked out. Intro students can very
easily slip into a technologically helpless state if you let them. They will tell
you their difficulties as if they are the only person who has ever had such a
problem with a computer. Technological helplessness can quickly turn into
blaming you. I have had some resistance among Intro students to
technological requirements but they haven't generally caused problems once
they got into it. Hope this is somewhat helpful. I would be glad to
correspond with more specifics if you would like.
Rick
ANN MUIR THOMAS writes on 10 Sep 99,:
> Hi all,
>
> This may be a rant rather than something you can help with, but.... I set
> up my intro. students with a web-based quiz system and discussion group.
> So far, it's been a disaster -- students say they can't get into the site
> [which is password-protected], or they could get in earlier this week, but
> now they can't. Other professors here who are using the same system have
> not reported any problems. I've had some very good tech people working
> with me on this, and we are pretty sure that the problem lies with the
> students, not with anything I am doing or with the technology. But the
> students are all *blaming me* for the problems, and I am really freaked
> out about it. I am "on probation" this year and if my student evals don't
> improve, I won't be allowed to continue on the tenure track, and will be
> out of a job at the end of A.Y. 2000-2001. I feel jinxed -- like I have
> already poisoned this class, so why even *try* to make things better?
>
> [BTW, I used the discussion group system last spring in an upper-level
> class with relatively few problems, except for a student impersonating me
> and announcing class was cancelled when it wasn't, before I
> password-protected the group...]
>
> WRT the students, I just sent them an email saying that their web-based
> work for this week and next is cancelled, so they don;t have to worry
> about it affecting their grades. But then, what happens when suddenly I
> am making them do it again? Won't this just make them even more upset
> with me?
>
> Argh.
>
> ------------------
> Ann Muir Thomas, Ph.D. http://erebus.bentley.edu/empl/t/athomas
> "The Accidental Jewess" Bentley College, Waltham, MA
>
> "You aren't belittled by being little. Only by acting small." --- Red
>
>
Dr. Rick Froman
Psychology Department
Box 3055
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.jbu.edu/sbs/psych
Office: (501)524-7295
Fax: (501)524-9548
"I can't promise to try but I'll try to try." --Bart Simpson
