Teach Online

Are your students prepared to take online classes?

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:28:00 +0000

The more prepared the students are for both online learning and for the subject matter of the course, the less time the instructor needs to spend with that class on a weekly basis. A new online learner will need far more encouragement and assistance from the instructor than will a student who has taken one or more online courses.

Technology and time management can present problems for many students. Adult students who are returning to school for the first time in many years lack self confidence and need a lot of encouragement and positive reinforcement.

Another issue about which many instructors complain is the level of writing exhibited by many online students. In a text-based learning environment, when all communication is via writing, students must be able to express their thoughts in a coherent and concise manner. Thankfully, many schools have writing assistance available for students and instructors should encourage students to take advantage of these services.

Some students are not suited for online learning, plain and simple. Instructors know who those students are from the first week of the course. Students who are late posting introductions and the first week’s discussion assignment will generally remain behind the eight-ball for the entire course. Students who do not receive their textbooks on time and, thus, require additional time beyond the due date to complete the first week’s assignments rarely catch up and produce more than adequate work throughout the course.
Students who send emails during the first week of class to apprise the instructor of personal problems that might affect academic performance will most assuredly write again to use that as an excuse for not completing work on time. These students will struggle throughout the quarter or semester and will require additional time from the instructor in the form of answering questions, dealing with personal problems, explaining grades that are not as high as the students would like, and deciding which excuses for late work are valid and which are not.

Some students are very well suited to online learning. They are motivated, persistent, early turning in assignments, and best of all, they participate frequently in the course discussions. These are the leaders and lifelong learners. They enjoy learning and have a phenomenal work ethic. These are the students who bring joy to online teaching. Instructors always need to remember that, even though these students do not require time and attention, they most assuredly deserve the same time and attention that we give the more needy students.

Dear Prof: I didn't know I was enrolled in this class

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:56:00 +0000

Dear Professor: Can I make up the work from Week 1? I didn't know I was enrolled in the class until Week 2.
Your Student

Dear Student, Just in case you didn't know, it is violation of college policy to give someone your username and password and there are consequences for doing so. The course stats show that you were logged in to the course four times during week 1, including 20 minutes in the Lesson 1 area. I have two questions for you: (1) who logged in with your username and (2) if you logged in, why didn't you do the work for Week 1?
Your Professor

How do you use announcements in your online class?

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:42:00 +0000

A student emailed me recently complaining that I didn't post a weekly announcement with reminders of what was due and when each week. I had a good laugh over that one. Why waste my time doing that when the students can make their own calendars/checklists/whatever?

I use announcements as a teaching tool. I post resources, clarifications, extra information, and other content-related communications. Students learn quickly that my announcements are a gold-mine of learning resources.

It's not unusual for me to post anywhere from 3-6 announcements per week. At the get-go, I tell students they are responsible for ALL information in the announcements and in the Question/Answer forum in the class.

How do you use announcements? And if not for teaching, then how do you make your teaching content available to students on a weekly basis? I know some instructors who use blogs and twitter and such; however, the schools where I work discourage this unless it's part of the LMS. And even then, it's just one more thing for students to check and they usually don't bother. Announcements are upfront and center every time they log into the course.

Your thoughts?

New Late Policy

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:24:00 +0000

Hmm I think I have the perfect policy. I don't have to deal with email excuses for late work. I don't have to decide yes or no to due date extension requests. I don't have to do extra work keeping up with late work. So how does it work?

I give every student a certain number of late passes (depending on how long the course term runs). In a 16 week course, I give them 6 late passes. In an 8 week term, they get 4 late passes. It also depends on whether it's grad or undergrad courses. I give undergrads a few more late passes than grads.

Here are the rules:

1. Do not email to ask me for a due date extension. Use a late pass.
2. Use late passes wisely - once they're used up, you don't get any more.
3. 10% per day late points are deducted for all late work regardless of the excuse/reason.
4. Email me with the following information when work is posted/submitted late: course number, section number, your name, assignment name and due date, date the work was submitted. (without this notification, the zero becomes permanent).
5. Do not include an explanation for the work being late (it's irrelevant since everyone gets the same number of late passes to use for any reason).
6. Written work and discussion postings may be submitted late up to 5 days.
7. Discussion responses are not eligible for late passes (it's like being in a classroom - you can't respond to people when they've all gone home).
8. Late work is graded once every two weeks so keep checking the gradebook for your grade and please do not email to ask why your late work hasn't been graded yet.

Cases of true emergencies (for example, hospitalization or natural disasters that prevent a student from going to his/her place of employment for longer than three days with documentation) will be considered on an individual basis. I've had plenty of students who kept up with their work while in the hospital but I decided to leave that as an "emergency" anyway.

When I get late work notification, I know exactly what the assignment is and when it was due and when it was submitted. I file it in a late folder. And then I grade all the late work about once every two weeks.

My grading priority is for students who do their work on time. They deserve my undivided focus and most intensive, comprehensive feedback. Students who don't care about getting work done on time (very rarely is there a true emergency that prevents students from missing due dates - it's stupid stuff like "I forgot") get my left-over time and very little feedback.

I go the extra mile for all students however they have to meet me at least halfway. Late work is NOT halfway.

This works. It's a great time-saver when dealing with late work.

One day off a week for online faculty?

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:33:00 +0000

I've always wondered why online faculty are expected to work 7 days a week. On-campus faculty don't work 7 days week. Why is teaching online a 7-day a week job? For most of us it has certainly turned out that way. Of all the schools I've taught for over the years (and the ones I still teach for), only two do not require 7-day a week availability. Those two state to online students that faculty will answer questions (in the class or via email) within 48 hours during the business week, NOT counting weekends and holidays. The rest of the schools tell students that online faculty WILL respond within 24-48 hours to any email or class questions.

I'm thinking about actually taking a day off every week -- something I haven't done for nearly 10 years. Everyone else in the family has off two days every weekend. So I'd really like to NOT work on Saturday or Sunday so I have at least ONE day free when everyone else has a day off. Well ... a day free except for answering emails and any questions in the class Q&A forum. But then isn't that "working"? Answering emails and class questions can take a good couple of hours sometimes, especially when there's a major assignment coming up.

I'm thinking Saturday might be a good day to take off every week. Of the two weekend days, Saturday would probably work best because most students don't even start working on their assignments until Sundays so they don't even know what questions to ask until the day the assignments are due. Working a few hours on Sundays is okay because in many classes, I can get an early jump start on grading assignments because SOME students do turn in work early.

Discussion Participation

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:31:00 +0000

I have a real problem with these schools that say students only have to participate once or twice a week. That’s not enough to learn anything meaningful. People say “but in traditional classes students are only in class once or twice a week and it’s the same difference.” NOT!!

Let’s put it this way: Have you ever known a student in a classroom to say only three things (equivalent of a post and two responses) that are only 75-100 words each during one or two class periods in a week.

Certainly not. Of course there are some classes in which some students talk too much in a classroom and some do not talk enough but a skilled in-class professor CAN and SHOULD get everyone contributing equally.

Comparing online to in class is apples and oranges. Discussions in the two learning environments simply cannot be compared.

Many online schools now require students to participate (i.e. posting or responding in discussions, not just logging in and reading discussions) 5 out of 7 days. Students (AND professors) often complain that this is too much. But consider this: the more often one participates, the less time it takes in one sitting. If a student (or professor) logs in 2-3 times a week to read and respond to discussions, the threads are so long that either (1) it takes hours to catch up or (2) they don’t bother reading everything. And that’s when learning is lost.

Logging in and reading/responding in discussions every day means that the new messages are more manageable for reading and responding. And students will most likely read more (if not all) the new messages and they will tend to respond more. Actively participating in online discussions a minimum of 5 days a week means that students can spend 10-15 minutes a day reading and responding rather than 2-3 hours once or twice a week. And they learn more from each other the more often they engage in meaningful discussion.

Then there are the professors who say “But I don’t want them posting and responding more than just a few times because then it’s too much for me to deal with.” Well …actually the only response to that has to be: get over it and do your job. The question is this: are the discussions for you (the professor) or for the students? And how is learning optimized when the professor does not want to read and facilitate interaction among students who are posting and responding more than three times in a week?

Discussions are the primary learning activity in online classes and not using discussions effectively can seriously limit students’ learning opportunities.

Why Teach Online

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:29:00 +0000

Online teaching is both an art and a science. Some people are born instructors and others learn through study, hard work, and experience. Online teaching requires specialized skills in communication, organization, and technology. I would not go so far as to say that anyone can teach online, but I do believe that anyone who has the desire and motivation to be an effective online instructor can learn everything needed to fulfill that dream.

People want to teach online for a lot of different reasons. Some are simply enamored with the technology. Some prefer teaching online because there are more opportunities to interact with students. Some cannot teach in a traditional classroom because of various health, medical, or disability issues. Others want to work at home so they can take care of children or elderly parents.

Only a very few are naïve enough to want to teach online for the money or because they think the work is easier, but most will admit to wanting to teach online for the convenience.

There are also plenty of people who do not want to teach online but are required by their schools to develop and teach online classes in addition to their traditional on-campus classes.

Of all these reasons and more, I like teaching online because of the various opportunities for better interaction and communication with, and among, the students. Rather than seeing students for 3-4 hours a week with the possible addition of time during office hours, instructors can communicate with students in the discussions and by email anytime during the day, all week long.

Do you see progress throughout your classes?

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:23:00 +0000

I teach fully online. My various school terms run from 5-6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 week semesters. In my experience, students in both 12 and 16 week terms get off to a great, enthusiastic start and then start losing it when there are 3-4 weeks to go.

Shorter terms provide ongoing engagement and students rarely lose interest before the class is over. 8 weeks seems to be the best pacing for learning. Anything less is too short and students are too rushed and get overwhelmed easily. That said, some 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 week courses are designed specifically for those terms lengths and are not intended to cram in an entire semester’s worth of learning in such a short period of time. In those cases, the shorter courses are great extension or remedial opportunities for all students.

Some profs find starting over every term disheartening because they don’t see ongoing progress in their teaching. I disagree. I love getting to the last week of class and talking with students about what they have learned. My last week discussion assignment is always a reflective look back at where we started, and where we are now.

Sometimes students need that guided reflective experience. They often do not see their own progress and improvement. When I point out to them the huge improvements in writing and content of their work over time, they pay attention and are sometimes surprised at just how much they have learned during the class. So we talk about it. And both students and I really enjoy that reflective experience.

I enjoy starting over with new students every term, no matter how short or long that term might be. There’s an excitement and enthusiasm that first week that is inspiring for teachers. I like getting to know students during the introductory week and have always learned my students strengths, weaknesses, and personalities on a far more intensive level in an online class than a traditional class.

I have emails saved for the past decade from students who write after moving on to other classes to thank me for preparing them so well. That's the reward and that's why I teach instead of doing research.

Dear Prof: I want an Incomplete

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:23:00 +0000

It's that time of the year again (well actually it's that time of the year all year long if you teach for several different schools all on different schedules). Students don't seem to understand the rules for Incompletes. I guess these may be different at some schools, but everywhere I teach has the following basic rules:

Student must have completed 80% of the course work prior to the end of the term
Student must have a passing grade
Missing work must be due to illness or other emergency and cannot be more than for two weeks of assignments AND cannot be from prior to midterm.

This all means that students can't just miss a couple of weeks of class or slack off a little each week (as what happened with this student) and then decide they want to pass the course and so they request an incomplete.

Dear Professor:
I want an incomplete at this time, prior to final grading. This course is a requirement for graduation, and I must pass this class in order to graduate. I want the incomplete for the zeros in Weeks 1, 3, 4, 8, 9. I will make these up after the course is over, within 30 days as required by the Incomplete policy.
Student

My response:

Dear Student,

As per XYZ University Incomplete Policy, I cannot grant an incomplete. Incompletes are given only to students whose work has been satisfactory up to the time of the request. You have a D in the class at this time. Further, the zeros were apparently not due to illness or extenuating circumstances since other work in those same weeks was completed on time. In Week 1, the discussion was completed; the quiz was not. In Week 3, the quiz was completed; the discussion was not. In Week 4, the paper was completed; the discussion was not. In Week 8, the discussion was completed; the paper was not. And in Week 9, only the quiz was completed.

The final grade, D, stands for this quarter. A suggestion for future classes: keep up with your grade average throughout the course so that you are not surprised by your final course grade the last week of the course.

Cordially,
Your Professor

Surprisingly, there was no further communication from this student. I guess that when she saw the evidence that she had just slacked off those weeks, she figured the dean wouldn't go to bat for her either. I hope it was a lesson well-learned for this student.

Interactive discussion online

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:20:00 +0000

Interactive discussion online does not mean that professors reply to every student. I do respond to every individual in peer review discussions. However, this type of individual feedback in an open forum helps everyone and that's why I do it that way. If the individual feedback would not have been helpful to the class as a whole, I wouldn't structure the peer review in this way.

In weekly topic discussions, basically I butt out. I ask questions if appropriate during the first few days for clarification, throughout the week I post additional resources, and at the end of the week I post a "food for thought" sort of summary for the week. Beyond that, I stay out of it. I tell students upfront that the discussion is for them and that I will not respond individually to anyone because if I do, then they will get to the point where (1) they are dependent on my postings and (2) they'll talk to me instead of each other. This is not to say I don’t read their discussions; obviously I do that on a daily basis to keep an eye on how things are going. Surprisingly, I have never, and I do mean never, had a problem with any disrespectful behavior or flaming in class discussions.

Just like discussions in a f2f classroom take on a life of their own, the same happens in an online discussion IF students are required to participate throughout the week. If not, then no matter how much a professor responds to individuals, few will participate more than one or two days a week. If required to participate 4-5 days a week, students will engage in some really good discussions. I have worked for institutions that required a response to every student’s comments in the discussions throughout the course. All I can say is that this is a ridiculous requirement and I left those schools as soon as I could replace them with other schools that had more reasonable expectations. I presented research (some of it my own writing and conference presentations) in opposition of this requirement to no avail.

Can you imagine being in a f2f classroom and dominating the students’ discussions? Nothing shuts them up faster than the professor butting in while they’re talking. Same goes for online just as f2f.

Online Adjuncts v. Online Full Time

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:19:00 +0000

Online adjunct faculty always teach at multiple schools. We have to do this if we want to teach full time because adjuncts are permitted only a certain number of courses per term (or per year) at any one school. There is simply no other way for an online adjunct to maintain full time work. I am not teaching online to supplement a “day job” — my career is full time online teaching and that means a full course load on a year round basis.

Loyalty and commitment are very important to all online adjuncts but it is a two way street. Some schools hire huge adjunct pools and are not consistent in providing steady work for online adjuncts. I prefer to maintain long-term working relationships with schools that consistently provide classes for me to teach every term. In return, I maintain availability to teach those classes every term. Adjunct teaching is not a traditionally secure career by any means and I highly value the working relationships that I have with directors of online programs, faculty chairs, and other personnel who may be responsible for scheduling online classes.

There has to be a mutual understanding on everyone’s part when it comes to adjunct online teaching. I understand that low enrollment may mean canceling one of my classes at the last minute. Similarly, the directors know that I depend upon my teaching salary, which depends upon my teaching a specific number of courses each term. If one school offers an additional class prior to the term start date, I will most likely accept because there is always the possibility that another course somewhere else may be canceled at the last minute, in which case I would not have enough courses for that term. Sometimes taking an additional course at one school means that I won’t be available for a last-minute extra class at another school unless a course somewhere else cancels.

Full time online teaching is a balancing act that happens every term and everyone has to remain flexible because enrollment determines how many classes are offered each term, at each school. My advice is to find schools whose directors know and understand the concerns and issues inherent in maintaining full time teaching on an adjunct basis.

Cure for late enrollment issues

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:17:00 +0000

Students who enroll in class late can pose a real problem -- they have no textbooks and they cannot participate in content discussions or take quizzes. However, there is a "cure" for those problems.

First, I design my classes so that the textbook is not needed until Week 3. I provide web readings for Week 2. No readings are required for Week 1.

There is a chapter quiz in Week 3 that includes all chapters up to that point in the class so they have to read and study the text by the end of Week 3.

Week 1 is an "orientation" week. We do introductions, goals, discuss the syllabus and locate current events of interest that are related to the topics in the course.

Since beginning these practices, I've had no problems with students needing extra time to catch up as a result of enrolling after the course has started.

Holiday Blog Posts

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:14:00 +0000

During the holidays, I'll be taking a break from blogging for a few weeks. I will run some of the more popular postings from the past 4 years during this time. Enjoy!!

Read my books for FREE

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Three of my books are available FREE for Amazon Prime members. Click on the titles below to check it out:

Grading Made Fast and Easy

Self Defense and Personal Safety

Winds of Gold (novel): The Legend of Beale's Treasure

Enjoy and Merry Christmas to ALL!!

College Remediation

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 06:29:00 +0000

Alliance Report on College Remediation

“While one-third of students will fail to graduate from high school, too many students who do graduate and make it to the postsecondary starting line find that they are underprepared for postsecondary work. Unfortunately, this trend affects students no matter what postsecondary path they choose. A full 43 percent of those who begin postsecondary studies fail to earn a degree after six years, and one major reason for this is that students receive inadequate preparation while in high school. Roughly one out of every three students entering postsecondary education will have to take at least one remedial course, and taking a remedial course dramatically increases the odds a student will not complete college.”

There’s a whole lot of research coming out about how high school students are underprepared for college. Those of us who teach college classes see this every term. It’s not unusual to lose 10 or more students out a class that starts with 25, especially in the first year classes. Yet can we completely blame high schools for this? Your thoughts?

Technology Attitude

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:30:00 +0000

I can understand and empathize with students' frustrations and trepidation and downright resistance to new technology. After getting a new laptop (identical to my 2 yr old laptop except of course all the latest upgrades -- which are a LOT in two years), I spent a few hours getting it all set up and then got locked out. I had to do a complete factory restoration and then go through the set up process again. Transferring files was no problem since I use carbonite but loading all my software and setting up preferences on everything was a bit of a pain in the butt.

So I got to thinking about my first computer experience in the early 90's and the progression of skills since them. I realized that I resisted and then complained about every new computer I got over the years. Nothing new was as good as what I was used to! :-) Of course I eventually got used to the new computers as well but then after a couple of years, went through the same thing with each subsequent new computer and/or laptop.

And I especially remember how clueless I was with my first computer. Many of my students have brand new computers for the first time and know NOTHING except how to turn it on. Many have had computers for a while but only for email and they don't know anything about saving files, or even using MSWord.

While I am sympathetic, and perhaps because I am sympathetic, I believe all students should be required to pass a technology test before beginning their first online class. For many students, just learning the content and keeping up with reading and assignments is almost too much. If they are trying to learn how the computer (and CMS) works along with all the other, it IS too much. And so many new online students drop out of their online classes.

A simple technology orientation training plus passing a user test would solve that issue. Why don't schools do this? Do they just assume that everyone nowadays knows how to use the computers they have? I think that's an erroneous assumption. What have your experiences been like with students who have no clue about how to do anything on their computers?

I can't find any information on my essay topic

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 06:57:00 +0000

Dear Professor,
I can't find any information in the school online library about my essay topic. Is it too late to change topics?
Your Student

Dear Student:
Your topic was approved three weeks ago and the draft is due this week. The time to start researching was three weeks ago so that you would have had plenty of time to get help with this. Several students in previous classes have chosen this topic and all found a sufficient number of sources to write the essay. There are several contacts and resources for assistance with research and using the library databases. Please contact either the librarian or the writing center before the end of today (Friday). Responses on the weekend are not guaranteed.
Your Prof

Should You Offer Extra Credit?

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:19:00 +0000

Should You Offer Extra Credit?

June 16, 2011, 10:02 am
By Eliana Osborn

Personally I don’t use extra credit. I tell students they should have done the work the first time. The last two weeks of class are not the time to want to do work to increase their grades. Doing work over and making up work? Well for me that depends entirely upon the situation. Laziness and MIA students certainly do not receive those opportunities. Legitimate health situations DO qualify for make ups. There’s rarely a good reason for a do-over, in my opinion. What do you think?

Students think technology more important than teachers

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:37:00 +0000

Well well, isn't this interesting?

Survey: Community College Students Prize Internet Access over Teachers

More than than 70 percent of students surveyed "believe that it is important to have access to high speed Internet in order to succeed at community college," the report states. "In fact, students tend to believe that high speed Internet access is more important for success than having access to advisors or relationships with professors."

What do you think about this?

My professors aren't personable

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:04:00 +0000

From Student:

My professors are not friendly or personable at all. I don't like my classes and don't feel like I can ask questions. Why can't you just answer my questions instead of telling me to go look at the information posted in the course?

Dear Student:
Perhaps it might help if you project a more professional tone in your communications. A good start is to include a salutation and conclude with "thanks" or "regards" or whatever plus your name. Another good idea is to stop making demands.

You might also consider that your professors are irritated with your questions because they have gone to a lot of time and trouble to post information in the announcements. All your questions are answered in that information. Professors also get irritated when students don't read and follow assignment instructions.

Sometimes it's just really difficult to answer questions or provide feedback on work in a "friendly" tone when it's obvious that the student has no motivation or initiative to learn (i.e. reading announcements, following instructions, and so forth). And it's especially difficult when students write in a demanding and disrespectful tone.

It's a two-way street. When students don't bother to meet the prof halfway by taking responsibility for learning, how can you expect a "friendly and personable" response to your silly questions.

Your Prof

*Not my actual response, obviously. More wishful thinking*

Unprepared for College

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:13:00 +0000

Unprepared for college

What percentage of your students are unprepared? In my classes, over 50% are unprepared for online learning but only a small percentage are unprepared for content. Writing? about 30% are unprepared for college writing.

HOLIDAY SALE: GRADING MADE FAST AND EASY

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:15:00 +0000

Do you want to escape grading jail? Check out Grading Made Fast and Easy.

Holiday sale -- 2.99 now through New Year's Day.

You can get it in a Adobe eBook download or the Kindle version. The price is the same.

Good luck with end-of-term grading – it doesn’t have to be a marathon!

Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:09:00 +0000

Teaching through the holidays

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:05:00 +0000

And another year has gone by and we're a week away from the Nov/Dec/Jan holiday season. What does this mean for online profs? Carrying on through the holidays, business as usual.

What does this mean for online students? Taking a break and doing nothing for class on the holiday weekends and turning in work late after the holiday is over.

NOTE: Several schools have due dates set on Sundays and that stands even on holidays. Sometimes I can get away with giving students an extra day; sometimes not. Depends on the school.

Course Evaluations

noreply@blogger.com (VIrtual Professor) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:59:00 +0000

So, let's talk about course evaluations. Fun topic, right? For most of us, it's not all that fun, especially if your school uses these to determine if you'll get more classes to teach or maybe even if you'll get a raise. I've gotten both but not based on course evals. Some of my course evals are just horrible and the comments from some students are downright nasty and blatantly false. Hopefully most faculty supervisors know this but let's face it, some don't.

In a nutshell, what happens is that the complainers and whiners fill out course evaluation forms and look at this as an opportunity to really get back at professors who "gave them bad grades." What they don't say is that the students don't do the work and that's why they got bad grades. The funny thing is that the students who send personal emails with wonderful comments don't usually complete course evaluations. They figure that since they emailed, there's no need to do the course eval. Even when I write back thanking them for the email and requesting that they include their comments on the course eval, most don't do that.

Students don't realize that our supervisors often base our continued employment on these course evaluations. So now I have a public and verifiable response to my school for all the nasty and false comments on those evals. I've been doing this for several years. I do this in pre-designed courses as well as in the courses I write and teach.

During the last week, I put up a public discussion board forum called Course Reflection. Then I invite students to tell me what they liked and did not like about the course and to include suggestions for making it better.

This is an official and verifiable record of what students REALLY think of my class and of my teaching. It's right there in the course. This is the perfect way to PROVE how students really feel about your class. A professor could falsify email comments but there's no way (okay there's always a way but not likely to happen) to do that on a public class forum. I do make copies of these to keep for my records in case a school archives a course and I can't access it any longer.

It's amazing to me how a little anonymity can bring out the very worst in people. When I used to give professors poor evaluations I actually signed my name and requested the person who read the course evaluations contact me. I actually had one professor contact me once. We had a very nice conversation.

So if you're a good professor who is receiving horrible course evaluations from your students, consider using a public reflection forum at the end of your class session.