5.+Session+5-Supporting+Participants+in+Online+learning

Reflect on the readings in this course and your experience(s) as a participant in eLearning courses as you consider situational scenarios that sometimes occur in online courses. Respond to three or more scenarios and share how the scenario should be addressed by the course facilitator. Include specific language to help focus the course participant back to course content and/or appropriate behavior.

I would email or call the procrastinator and try to determine what the problem is. If he is lacking time management skills, I could help him find time to post earlier. If this is not the case, I would stress the benefits of early participation - out of the way in case something comes up, the benefits of recieving feedback from peers. (Suzie)
 * **Situational Scenario** || **Suggested Responses of a Facilitator** ||
 * **1. Procrastinator** – Your directions state that the response to the discussion forum should be completed by Sunday evening. However, Student A does not enter the discussion forum until the last evening after everyone else has completed the week’s discussion topic. It is obvious that few participants will read or comment to this student. How can you help the Procrastinator post on time? || If this is the first time it has happened, an e-mail reminder of the directions may be enough. However, if it is a habitual problem, a phone call may be inorder. Student A needs to know that it is inconsiderate of the other participants when he does not post until the session is about to end. (Jeanie)

My response would be contingent upon whether this was a continuing problem or if this is a posting during session one (sometimes new participants are unsure of expectations and how they should respond so they may be continuously reading other participants postings to get an idea of what is expected, then posting later on Sunday). If Student A is posting at the last minute during session one, I would send an email stating that although the required posting is due by 10:00p.m. Sunday evening it would be most beneficial for him/her to post earlier in the week in order to receive constructive feedback from facilitator/peers and participate in a more meaningful online experience. In this same email I would also inquire if there were any issues that were preventing him/her from posting earlier and, if so, offer assistance to help alleviate the problem. If student A did not post earlier in the week for Session 2, I would send a reminder email to do so (offering words of encouragement). If Student A posted late Sunday evening again, I would contact Donna, explain the situation, and seek advice. (Teresa)

I would email the student and see if they are completing the work late on Sunday because they are really procrastinating, or maybe it is because they teach, coach and work another job (I would be very sympathetic to this!!). I would explain to them that because they are posting late, everyone is certainly reading their post but they've already made their contributions and we cannot be sure about what their true feelings are. I would try to help them figure out a way they could post earlier during the week, or at least earlier on the weekends so that they could receive constructive feedback on their post. However, as long as they are making their post by 10pm, they are doing the required work, thus, I do not know that there is much else that can be done about it! (Brittany)

I would send an email to encourage class participants to post early. If a blanket email wasnt successful, I would contact him/her directly to make them aware of the benefits as well as the disadvantages of being a procrastinator. Heather || If it is a group problem, I would email the entire group and remind them of their responsibilities to themselves and each other as members of this class (much in the same fashion Jackie did with our wiki responses in Section 2). If students are within the guidelines of the MOU, not much could be done to enforce earlier postings. Warnings of potential downfalls - i.e, your Internet connection could be stolen by copper thieves, your cat could development tonsilitis - in a humorous manner might entice the late one to respond more promptly.(Suzie) If it was something that happened infrequently I probably wouldn't mention it. But if one or two participants continually wait until the very last minute to make their posts then you could remind them of the MOU like Kim mentioned and possibly suggest that they reevaluate their weekly timeline. Maybe suggest that they try to give themselves an earlier deadline to post that way they will get the most out of the course. I have been a late poster before, and I wouldn't say I'm not participating in the course just because I post late. Sometimes life gets in the way, as it has for me the past two weeks. If they are technically getting it in before the deadline then they aren't technically breaking any guidelines by the MOU, correct? It may not be ideal for them to wait until midnight Sunday night, but with the MOU at least that is better than midnight Tuesday night! (Rachelle) || First establish a support plan and remain positive. "Student A, first take a second to relax! =) ELearning courses are designed with the busy teacher in mind. I've been where you are and I know if you look at all the things we will be learning during our course it does seem overwhelming but lets just take it one step at a time. As long as you stay on track for each session before you know it your seven week course is up! I'm here to help you, if you have any questions or concerns during a session feel free to email me or write a question on our "help and solutions" thread. I'll also be providing a checklist of what should be completed during each session in my weekly emails. I also find it to be helpful to find some "me time" (interrupted work time) during your week. It is also useful to print off reading materials so you can have them on hand to read during your free time. I hope this has helped you. Let me know if you need anything, you can do this! (Pasley) || First, we need to identify the portion of the course that is most intimidating to the participant. I would then provide tutorial help to get him "over that hurdle." Then I would encourage him to check to see if anyone at his school has taken an on-line course. If someone can be found, I would encourage him to talk with that person. Low-key encouraging e-mails may also be helpful. (Jeanie)
 *  **2. Late Posts:** Participants wait until the last minute to post in the discussion board. This makes it difficult for others to respond and also read at least 50% of all posts. Are these late posters really participating in the course? How will you address this situation to ensure that all participants meet the course requirements in a timely manner? || ﻿I would contact the participant and remind them about the MOU that they have signed. I would again explain when the posts need to completed and why it is important to complete them on time. If necessary I will call the participant on the phone and discuss the issue with them. After our discussion if the problem does not improve I will contact Donna Landin to have him removed from the course for not following the MOU. (Kim)
 * 3. **Novice Participant:** You have a student in your course who has never taken an online course before. They participate in the orientation activities and reviewed the course requirements. They are totally over-whelmed and think they should drop the course. How would you convince them that you can help them through the course and that they should continue to work to complete the course?

I would encourage the student to break the course down in manageable pieces. A timeline and a checklist might help accomplish the goal. I would also make sure she had my numbers and times I could be reached. I would make a point to email her frequently in the first few sessions to see how it's going. Emails could drop off as she becomes more confident.(Suzie)

I would explain to the student that the great thing about the course is that you can take it a week at a time, and they could just set aside an hour or so everyday to work on it, and ensure them that they will complete the requirements. I would tell them that I will be available to answer emailed questions everyday, and that if they find themselves not comfortable after the first couple of weeks, to drop it then, rather than just dropping it right off the bat. I would tell them my first experience with ELearning, and help them to understand that everyone feels a little overwhelmed at first, but as the course proceeds, they should become entirely comfortable! (Brittany) || I don't like one liners! I feel like if participants are putting thought into their post they should get the same courtesy from their peers. I would send a reminder within the discussion. "We have some great discussion going on this week. However, please remember as we post during discussions that these ELearning course are graduate level and therefore posts and reponses should be at that level. Our discussions are like classroom discussion please provide feedback that is constructive, positive, and useful for the session. Responses of short one liners will not count as your recommended response requirement. Lets give each other the courtesy of thoughtful great reponses!" (Pasley) || I dont mind "I agree, I disagree, Great idea," as long as something else meaningful follows. Those one liners are generic when stated alone. If that is all they were honestly posting then I would send them a private email and ask them if they were having trouble responding to class members' posts. I would mention to them that an appropriate response is meaningful. Tips would be given on how to ellaborate with meaning. (Heather)
 * 4. **Discussion Posts:** On the discussion board, Sloan has written many responses to other participants but they are all short one liners such as, “I agree,” “I disagree,” and “Great idea.” Do these posts reflect quality contributions? If yes, explain why. If no, explain what you would do?

I would send Sloan a private email praising him for the “many” responses that he has posted. However, I would remind him of his agreement to the MOU “to complete all readings, activities, and course work with a minimum quality of above average for a graduate level course”. I would also state that just one line responses, such as, I agree, I disagree etc., are acceptable but does not constitute above average quality, therefore, these one line responses need to be followed by meaningful feedback in order to gain credit for the posting. I would also include an example in an effort to guide him. (Teresa)

I do not think these posts reflect quality contributions just as they stand. It is great to agree or disagree, or to complement someone, but it is also just as important to explain why you agree, disagree, or complement their work. I would send Sloan an email and explain that he needs to make more appropriate contributions (graduate level work per the MOU) and would explain that if these contributions continue, I would have to start assigning an I for the grade. The goal of the course is to create a community and one or two word responses are not being an active participant in the community. Thus, I also think he may need to be given examples of what quality responses would look like, maybe give him a post and help him to thoughtfully respond to it so he would know how to respond next time! (Brittany) || Pat, your project is a good work in progress. You have some great ideas in the works! I did notice several spelling and grammatical errors that have me concerned. Please remember to revise your work before submission. Keep up the good work and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. (Pasley) || You could suggest that she have somebody proofread her project for spelling/grammatical errors. Or you might suggest she utilize that option in Microsoft Word (if that is the program she is using). You could give her directions on how to access that option in the program if she is having trouble finding it. (Rachelle) ||
 * 5. **Mid-Course Project:** It’s time for the mid course check. As you are reviewing partially completed projects, you notice that Pat’s project has many great ideas but is full of spelling and grammatical errors. What feedback might you give Pat?
 * 6. **Missing Participant:** Bill has been a faithful participant throughout the course. The posts are completed within the session, the mid course check was turned in promptly. It is now Session 5 and Bill has made no response in Session 4. What action would you take if any? || ﻿I would contact Bill by email to see if everything was ok and remind him of the MOU that he agreed to at the beginning of the course. If Bill did not answer my emails, I would take the time to try and contact him by phone. If it continued I would contact Donna Landin to discuss the situation with her and have him removed from the class. (Kim)

I would probably be worried about him, honestly. Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. I would make every effort to contact him, phone, email, workplace (if allowed). If you know that he hasn't even logged on to the course I would suspect something is actually wrong and he is not just pushing the course aside. Especially if he was so on the ball before this happened. Before I dropped him I would do everything possible to contact him to figure out what the situation is. (Rachelle) ||
 * 7. **Anxious Participant:** Francis is struggling to keep up in every session. It seems the technology required is overwhelming and she is constantly emailing, posting to the discussion board and calling you at home for help. Often she is leaving the same message in 3-4 different locations for you. She has now fallen behind by two sessions but is still trying to complete the course requirements. What do you as the facilitator do in this situation? || Assuming that I been in contact and have given Francis support and every opportunity to get help to no avail, I would send the following email. “Francis, the MOU that you agreed to in the beginning of the course states that “I understand that I may at no time be more than one week behind in the course.” The environment of online courses relies on the student’s ability to successfully navigate the technology utilized in each course. Finding a technology course at local community college or adult education program will ﻿serve you better. At this time, it seems that it will not be possible for you to finish this course and you will be withdrawn.” (Bronson) ||
 * 8. **Inappropriate Discussion Post**: You are following the discussion posts in your assigned course and you read a post that is a personal attack on the school administration where the course participant is a teacher. || I would immediately remove the offensive post from the discussion forum and make the statement in an email to the whole class: “Just a reminder: at the beginning of each course, participants agree to the MOU which states that participants will be professional in their postings. At no time should anyone post anything that could be considered gossip, slander, or any other unprofessional dialogue. Posts that contain complaints about other teachers or administration will not be tolerated and are grounds for withdrawal from the course.” I will send a separate email to the participant of the inappropriate post with the above message attached and say, “In a recent post it seems that you made a personal attack on the administration at your school. To remain a course participant, please refrain from further inappropriate posts. Please send ﻿me a confirmation email stating that you have received this reminder.” (Bronson)

I too would remove the post ASAP and would contact the participant by email or maybe even by phone. I would let them know how unprofessional their post was and warm them of being dropped from the course. More importantly the consequences of slander are far more dangerous than removal from the course! Heather ||
 * 9. **Final Project:** You have received a private e-mail from a course participant stating the project they posted to the course discussion has been copied and turned in by another course participant. Upon investigation, you find this to be true. || Since plagiarism can carry such a heavy penalty, I would absolutely make sure that the aligation is true. Then I would plan to explain in a phone call followed by an e-mail what the course of action must be according to course guidelines. However, I would contact Donna before carrying out the plan...just to make sure I am doing verything "according to the book." (Jeanie)

Assuming that I could prove who posted the project first, I would contact the participant who committed plagiarism by phone and say, “….I have evidence that the final project you submitted is not your own work. The MOU requires that the work you submit in this course be your own and no one else’s. This violation means that you are withdrawn and will not receive course credit.” I would follow up with an email restating the above and documenting the conversation I made on the phone with the participant. (Bronson) || I would respond to the post that while in some instances the use of “text” language would be appropriate (i.e. cell phones, social networks, etc.) the use of this type of language in a graduate level course is totally unacceptable. I would also remind the participant of his/her agreement to the MOU specifically pointing out the sections that address being professional in postings/responses and including proper speech and grammar in postings/responses. (Teresa) ||
 * 10. **LoL:** A participant posts the following to the course discussion board, "i think u have a pt but look @ the 1st URL" || I would post a response to their post that reminds them about the MOU and how posts are suppossed to be done. Something like "Just a reminder to not use text language since the MOU we agreed with during orientation states "I will be professional in my postings and responses." (Kim)