Start of the semester!

Tomorrow will be the first day of the Fall 2010 semester! As my own children have been preparing to return to grade school, I have been preparing my class for my next group of students. Because the Fall session will be longer than the sessions offered in Summer, I want to take advantage of the extra five weeks provided to help my students succeed. As mentioned throughout the summer on the blog, Elluminate will be a tool that I will use, as soon as the semester is started and I get to know my students.

Just as in face to face classes, it seems that each class has its own personality. Some are more independent than others and some need more support. In the past the personality of the class quickly appears in the first week's introduction discussions and others will be made more clear one the first assignment is due (especially now that it is pretty early due to the Census date requirement).

These are just a few of the ways I gain an idea of the students I will work with in a semester-- What are ways you gain an insight of your classes at the beginning of the semester?

End of class reminder

Well, like many, the next weekend will be spent reviewing final submissions and closing the class. As I prepare, there are a few actions I take:

1. I send a reminder email (and post a message to the homepage) of the final due date and a statement that the class will close on Sunday at 11:59 pm (mst).
2. I give students a brief explanation of what they can expect as far as final grade. I know as a student it was frustrating waiting for the final message of what had been earned. I also tell students they will be given a certain amount of time (usually 24-48 hours) to inform me of issues before it will be submitted.

What are final ways you communicate with your students?

Dionne

Hope to see you at the fall conference

Have you got the news: Just released-- 2010 CCCOnline Faculty Conference Constructing Quality: Expand your Toolbox now open for registration!

No....I haven't been asked to post an advertisement about the conference, but I wanted to pass on my opinion. Every year that I have attended the fall conference, I have taken away valuable insights on instruction, on the platform we were using and on the various duties we have to perform (grading, leading discussions, using portfolios, etc). As I am to post ideas of "what works for me," I would have to report that attending the fall conference is in the "top ten"! This year, I am looking forward to exploring more of D2L (rubrics and grading) and learning more about exciting ways we can use different web-based technologies to communicate with our students.

What have you learned at the conference in the past? What are you looking forward to this year?