In this scenario Trinh has fallen victim to over-accessibility. With advancements in technology there are more methods of communication than ever. Most people have multiple email addresses, phone numbers, and social media accounts making it increasingly challenging to stay on top of communication. In a desire to be accessible, available, and helpful Trinh gave her students multiple avenues to connect with her (a mistake most of us have probably made at one point or another). I believe part of Trinh’s challenge is the perception of availability in an online course. Since the course is online and always “live” there is a perception that course content and resources (including the instructor) are always available. While this perception is hard to alter I believe there are some guidelines Trinh can set-up to help her deal with the communication overload.
I would first suggest that in her introductory module, Trinh clearly outlines what methods of communication are acceptable. I would suggest using 1 central email for course queries. If Trinh wishes to share her blog or Twitter handle she must make clear that it is for general interest and resource sharing as opposed to Q&A. Trinh should also set student expectations in terms of response rate (e.g. within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on the weekend). If Trinh will be away or unavailable for longer periods of time she should notify students.
As some of you have already suggested, Trinh should also create a general Q&A discussion board for the class. That way students can assist each other with challenges and Trinh can direct people to the discussion board for questions that have already been answered. Putting more emphasis on class collaboration will really help relieve some of Trinh’s communication burden. Trinh can also try holding live chats periodically throughout the course. That way students with questions or concerns can connect with Trinh in real time (much like what Natasha did for our LMS project). These live chats would be optional but Trinh can advertise them ahead of time and hold them almost as virtual office hours.
In terms of mandatory live streaming, I see that causing a lot of unnecessary hardship. Knowing that her course has a very large international presence she should not make participating in live streams mandatory. Instead, Trinh should continue to hold live streams – as they add another level of dimension to an online course – but she should record them and post them for everyone to view at their convenience. In order to ensure students view the live streams, Trinh can generate discussion questions or assignments based on the content of the live streams and required students to complete them within that course week.
Lastly, I think Trinh needs to limit the number of registrants in her course. 150 students per 1 instructor is a bit outrageous. I have never been in a virtual class of more than 30 students per one instructor. Perhaps Trinh can cross train a few colleagues so they can facilitate additional offerings of the course. Alternatively, Trinh could offer the course in multiple terms (with smaller class sizes) to help keep up with the demand. An online medium can feel isolating and impersonal to students even in a class size of 30. I think it will be more beneficial for both Trinh and her students if the class sizes are smaller allowing for personal connections to be made between classmates and with Trinh.
Hi Colleen,
I think that we’re pretty much on the same page here. My only question is in limiting the students. Do you think that this is something that she’ll have control of? Also, I’m not sure how professors are compensated, but would the number of students influence this? She may have to find a way to make it work with 150 students.
Jason
Hi Jason,
That’s a good question. I’m not sure if she would have the authority to make the decision but I certainly think an argument could be made for a smaller class size. I don’t think salary is tied to class size but I could be wrong! If anything I would guess that it is the opposite. Thinking back to my undergrad years the first year classes were very large (100-150 students) but by the time you were in fourth year you had small seminars (20 students). I would think the professors that facilitated the small specialized seminars would be paid more than those facilitating the large broad courses.
Hi Colleen,
We’re definitely on a similar line of thought. I especially like your idea that the live streams could be recorded for students to view later, and that there would be an assignment based on the live stream to keep students accountable. That way, Trinh can offer content to students at their convenience while still ensuring that the assigned work is being completed.
– Allen.
Hi Colleen;
Just wanted to add my 2 cents…The key point you make is one of setting up reasonable expectations. Students are used to instructors setting up boundaries at the beginning of term, so this is not an unreasonable suggestion. The f2f time that is possible in a seminar of 20 is simply not possible in a class of 150 and nobody, Trinh included should expect it to be. She needs to set up some boundaries, quickly! 🙂
Kind regards,
Tanya
Hi Colleen,
I liked your archiving info sessions idea especially if they can be tagged and searched somehow for others to benefit from.
Enjoyed reading your post . . . you are very thorough.
Keri
Hi all,
I just responded to Allen’s posting regarding the idea about reducing the number of students or changing the format of the course. You are right, the instructor doesn’t always have the authority to do it
As for the numbers and instructor’s benefit from high numbers, I can only say how things work at UBC. There are different financial models, some paid per course, some per student depending on the position. Some instructors accept to teach high number of student as their income depends on those numbers. Regardless of that, even if they use one course shell, my recommendation would be to have the content accessible to all in the same way, but divide students into smaller groups for discussions and activities. Even groups of twenty would make such a difference. It will be a huge list for Trinh, (it is anyway), but a great help for students. As much as a student would like to read everything and not to miss a wonderful idea, there is no way for him/her not to miss something. If nothing else, the student will miss on engaging deeper into the conversation with the few, when trying to skim way too many.
Natasha
Natasha,
Thank you for the extra clarification about numbers, institutions and financial considerations. They help to answer many of the questions that I had when I first read Trinh’s scenario. Always much more to situations than meets the eye.
Keri