Dear Randy,
I’m glad you are enjoying the course so far. As we say in our field, museums are not just for dinosaurs!
Some of the problems you mention are part and parcel of a distance learning experience with class colleagues in distant time zones. That being said, you’re right and I will try to make the course more flexible to meet people’s time constraints by making our guest lectures available asynchronously after they have been held live, along with the text of questions and answers that come up during these lectures. As for meeting with your colleagues in groups, I would encourage New Zealanders to make their own groups, and our South African and Finnish students to work together in another group since they are in the same time zone, unless one’s schedule is such that they would rather work at say, 7 AM than 7 PM (since N.Z. is 11 to 12 hours behind S.A. and Finland), in which case you might want to join a group from the opposite time zone. This should make it easier to meet synchronously with group members.
Lastly, because I’ve had several similar queries from other students, I hope you won’t mind me copying and pasting this response to the Q & A discussion board so others can see it? I would prefer that all such queries be posted there from now on, unless you would rather keep it private, in which case you can email me at trinh@uuu.edu. If you would rather meet in real time, please do email me and we can make an appointment via Skype or Google Hangouts. If you see a question from your peers that you can answer on the Q & A discussion board, please do so.
Thank you for your patience as we work out some of the inconsistencies in the course.
Sincerely,
Trinh
Randy,
I always appreciate your creative approach to posts! You suggest some great points, particularly about the issue of collaborative work across time zones and the offering of a text-based Q&A transcript to accompany the archived guest lecture video/audio tracks. That would be a great resource to refer to later, especially so you’re not jumping around on a track to find the spot that a question was asked. As I mentioned in another post, these resources could be used in future reiterations of the course as well.
The most important thing about your mock email from Trinh is that communication became more streamlined. “She” honours the student by asking permission to share the questioning more broadly, which shows a mutual respect for that individual’s needs as well as the group’s.
I really appreciated this original post! Thanks!
Victoria
Victoria, I have to be creative to avoid just reposting what you’ve already said!
Hi Randy,
Nice post! I like your very practical and creative approach to addressing this week’s discussion question. Perhaps, if the student does not have any objectives then you could take the initiative to post that email to the discussion board for the rest of the class to see to get that communication space active!
Edwin
Thanks Edwin, you mean “Randy’s” email. I think you can pretty much infer what it would have said from Trinh’s response.
Oh wow! What a great way to tackle this discussion post.
I like your suggestions and they definitely come off as friendly and supportive of the students. I love the Q &A board idea!
My only issue is with the suggestion that students form groups within their own time zones. Doing this restricts students from the worldview and different perspectives they may have been seeking when taking a course from a university outside of their country. While I do see the benefits of working with partners in the same time zone, I don’t think it’s necessary to explicitly suggest forming groups this way. However, you do acknowledge that students can make their own choice, so you have your bases covered.
–Meghan
Hi Meghan, being a Torontonian I take for granted the fact that I’m as likely to encounter a different worldview and perspective next door as I am on the other side of the world. I actually have more cultures in my classes right now than students (due to biracial kids, which my own kids are for that matter)… but you’re right, I guess most places in the world are still a lot more homogeneous and partnering only with their own nationality could be limiting. I would suppose you’re not encountering very much cultural diversity in China.
Hi Randy,
you made me smile. Very creative! You didn’t even have to resolve Trinh’s problems. She found solutions on her own.
Good ideas, Randy.
Meghan, I think you are right about students wishing to work with peers from other countries. I know that there were some challenges with your collaborative assignment, and time zones were mentioned a few times. I actually created groups based on the time zones. However, I mixed those that can still connect in decent hours (e.g. B.C. and Ontario or Alberta students) as I thought it would useful to work with someone from a different geographical region. It is hard to make it work for everyone, I have to admit.
Natasha
Wonderful creativity in your post. I thought the time zone groupings were a great suggestion. Reposting the email into the Q & A is one great way to minimize the workload. Trinh provided multiple options for student response with a tone that seemed to say, I’m here but for professional and relevant questions.