In an earlier post (Activity 1) I indicated that I send out a welcome email. I also send out a completion email congratulating students for completing the course, explaining where to get their final grade. But there’s nothing in between expect assignment feedback. I feel like there’s a missed opportunity here to connect with students to check-in and see how they’re doing.

I’ve noticed that it is not uncommon for students to go months before submitting their first assignment (or between assignments). Sometimes students don’t submit their first assignment until they’ve near (and in some cases past) their original end date. Some may simply be busy, but for many others it’s likely that they need help figuring out how to work in this kind of environment. When you are used to having someone else hold you to a fixed schedule, an open ended “submit when you’re ready” course is likely to be quite challenging.

One thing I have been thinking of doing is to ensure that I contact students who have not submitted an assignment is over 1 or 2 months. Another option is to contact students who haven’t logged into Moodle in a while. In either case the purpose is to check in and make sure they are still on top of the work. Cramming doesn’t work, but going slow takes planning and long-term commitment. Just knowing that someone is holding you to some sort of schedule – even if it’s a really loose and flexible one – should help keep students on track. In essence I would like there to be this little voice in the back of their mind reminding them that I am expecting their assignment.