Four Rules for Facebook Friendships with Students

It seems like just a mere year or so ago, I thought that never in a zillion years would I befriend any of my students on Facebook, for fear that I would seem like one of those middle-aged-people-in-denial who frequents bars for 20-somethings, or worse - simply "creepy." Now, even in my relatively sparse use of Facebook, I've been amazed, first-hand, at its sheer power and force at breaking down social barriers and building or rebuilding relationships (ex: my 7th-grade best friend whom I probably would have never happened to cross paths with again is now my Facebook friend, among others). Now, one of THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES in the online classroom is clearly building a sense of community, creating a personal environment, feeling truly connected, blah,blah, blah. So, with so many folks on Facebook (and over 1200 more have joined since I started writing this just a few minutes ag0), the question of whether or not to integrate it somehow with online teaching is no longer if - but when. To reduce my worries about privacy, appropriateness, etc., I've made myself a little list of Facebook rules.

1. Be real, but not overly revealing. This means no heavy political banter, no off-color remarks, and a careful eye for embarassing photos from the long-ago past, posted by friends and "tagged" to me. Revealing too much is just like going to a company cocktail party and drinking too much and thus saying too much - except that on Facebook it might be there forever.
2. Make it useful and efficient. If I'm going to put some time into Facebook each week, I might as well multi-task. Use it for some virtual office hours and pre-exam study sessions.
3. Protect your privacy. Leave off the home address and make sure that Facebook settings are such that profiles, postings are not available to those beyond the "friend" list.
4. Make sure it's optional for students. Most students are going to be on Facebook. But some are not, and do not want to be - or maybe they are and they just don't want to be your "friend." They must feel no disadvantage whatsoever for this choice.

Advice from Students: How to Succeed in an Online Class

One of my areas of passion is online retention - so I've talked to a lot of students (both informally and through research) in trying to see why some succeed where others fail. Interestingly, when talking to students who withdrew from online courses, I've realized that reasons were rarely related to instructor issues. More often than not, the students did not fully realize what taking an online course would be like. Their advice to other students:

1. Understand that you will spend a lot of time on the computer.
2. Log in to your online course every day.
3. Expect to do a lot of reading - probably more than in a f2f course.
4. Know where to go for help, and don't hesitate to ask for it.
5. Get started on the course as soon as possible - log in on the very first day of class.
6. Don't wait until the due dates to post discussion assignments.

I use these tips, and variations of them, in both online and f2f orientations for online students. Yes, they may seem quite elementary to those of us who teach, support or otherwise breathe online learning, but now I realize that we can't overestimate how critical it is for new online students to know what to expect before their courses start.

My DLA Forecast for 2009

As we say goodbye to an unforgettable year, here's what I think is in store for 2009, at least in the world of online learning:

• A greater emphasis on the financial benefits of distance learning. Higher ed administrators who were previously lukewarm about DL will work on number crunching to see exactly how online learning lowers the instructional cost per student.



• Organizational structures will continue to evolve with DL departments increasingly aligned with academics rather than IT groups.



• eLearning will make its formal entrance into the mainstream with its appearance on the mission statements of more and more traditional institutions.



• Dramatically increased use of social networking tools (like Facebook) in online learning - for both instruction and support. Facebook will "age" a bit as more and more faculty and over 30 folks hop on for DL purposes and then get a little addicted themselves.



• Less one-on-one support for faculty as resources get further stretched (more courses but little or no new staff). The bad news is we'll see more group training sessions, but the savvy administrators will develop better, easy-to-use (and locate) online tutorials as well as mentoring programs.



• Big emphasis on green. Although gas prices are lower, the Summer of '08 is not forgotten. Online learning provides the obvious answer here. We'll slowly see more telecommuting of DL faculty and staff as well. Lots and lots and lots more online meetings.



• More streamlined approaches to quality, evaluation, and retention. More software entries such as that offered by Starfish Retention Solutions that will help us become accountable in a systematic way.



• Increased development and marketing of online courses and programs to the Hispanic community as well as those who support this population, such as teachers and healthcare providers.

Does the Recession Mean More or Less Online Enrollment?

Yesterday, we were told in the US that we are officially in a recession (duh), and have been since last December. So what does this mean for online enrollments? On the one hand, students out of work or consumed by debt may not have enough money to afford classes. Then again, people who have lost their jobs may use the time on their hands to seek new degrees and careers. I think that online programs, particularly affordable ones at public institutions, will see a extra surge in enrollments because of the economy. Why? Online programs allow students to continue their jobs and save money on gas and other costs such as babysitting. Marketwatch reported today that a survey of visitors to the website, eLearning.com, found that 44 percent wanted to take online courses to embark on a new career. On the downside, a third of the respondents were uncertain as to how they would pay for their education.

Evaluation: Why Student Satisfaction Matters

I was recently part of discussion regarding the importance, or lack of, student satisfaction as a measure of the success of a DL course or program. Clearly, it is student "learning" where we focus the brunt of our evaluation efforts - and must do so lest we wish to face the woeful proposition of being admonished by our accreditors. But student satisfaction measures are not fluff. They can be clear indicators of whether or not an online class needs a major fix, and whether of not our training programs for online instructors need to be realigned. Through student satisfaction measures, we can learn much - such as whether or not an online instructor is communicating on a timely basis, whether or not appropriate support systems are in place for online students, and whether or not we may hope to retain the student as a consumer of our online programs. Student satisfaction has a dramatic impact on our marketing, our enrollment, our retention, and even our course quality - if we utilize the data to thoughtfully make course, program, and administrative improvements.

Data Mining for Online Student Retention

At the top of my DLA Christmas Wish List would be a tool that automatically notifies DL support staff when a student is exhibiting at-risk behaviors in an online course (not logging in, not completing assignments, poor grades, etc.). The support person could then immediately contact the student and assist them or refer them to other services if needed (tutoring, counseling, etc.). I only recently learned that Blackboard has an integrated tool called Early Warning System that operates along these lines, and allows an instructor to set certain minimum standards. When students do not meet these standards, the instructor (and an "observer" if the instructor chooses) can pull this information up in a report. Another product, which I just discovered, called Starfish Solutions Early Alert appears to go a step further by not only identifying concerns, but tracking and facilitating interventions. I am not sure why I have not seen more discussion or excitement about these possibilities, since they have the potential to provide dramatically scale DLA student support services and create immediate improvements in retention.

Yep, Students are Customers

I'm really not sure why there continues to be any question about whether or not our students are customers. Hello - stocks are falling, banks are failing, budgets are being cut on a regular basis, and face it, we are in competition with one another for the tuition dollars of students. While our main purpose in offering DL programs is for the good of society (most of us want smart people around us) and to create some equity in educational opportunities, sometimes DL programs are actually developed in response to market demands (gasp!). And, I see marketing and promotion as becoming a more significant line in a DL budget. Of course it all begins with recruitment. For our DL programs we not only want to get the message out that they are available, but that our school is the best available brand for a particular group of target students. Beyond that, our job as DL Admins is to try to keep these students in our virtual doors once they enroll. This is where we get back to the tried-and-true customer service principles. Treat every customer (student) the way you expect to be treated. Quickly and effectively resolve the student's problem. Go the extra mile.... Some critics of the student-as-customer concept argue that all of this somehow diminishes the quality of education. I disagree. Part of the customer orientation is the delivery of a good product - in education this certainly includes challenge.

Quiet but Big Worries about the Higher Education Act

A colleague from another state called me today to ask my opinion of the Higher Education Act (2008) reauthorized in August. Buried in this mongo, 1200-page bill (full text) is a line that says that accreditors must require institutions to ensure that any student enrolled in a distance course is truly the one doing the work. Specifically it states: "the agency or association requires an institution that offers distance education or correspondence education to have processes through which the institution establishes that the student who registers in a distance education or correspondence education course or program is the same student who participates in and completes the program and receives the academic credit" So far, there are some questions and speculation but not a lot of answers. What exactly does this mean? Some, particularly companies who sell identification software (such as biometric or cameras) are interpreting it to mean that we must prove the identity of a student taking an online exam. But does this also apply to homework, discussion boards, papers, etc.? How can we prove that an online student who writes a term paper is truly that student unless they are actually proctored while writing the paper? This would be an impossible standard that could mean the demise of all online learning? Traditional courses are not held to such a standard, nor should they be. If it is only referring to proctored examinations, I can only imagine how instructors and institutions may respond. Yes, some will invest (or have their students invest) in online proctoring devices or face-to-face proctors. But I think that others would reduce or eliminate testing all together, relying only on discussion boards, papers, projects, etc. I am worried about this, and am anxious to hear how other institutions are responding, and what accreditors are interpreting this to mean.

Do We Coddle Our DL Students?

Recently, I was in a meeting where another assistant/associate dean suggested that we must consider taking the tough-love approach on our students (not specifically online ones), lest those in the workplace felt that we had coddled them too much, making them ill-prepared for the real world. As heads around the room nodded in agreement, I shuddered, knowing this was quite contrary to everything I had done to make our DL programs successful in terms of student success and retention. While real challenge is integral to teaching and learning, it must be accompanied by an unwavering commitment to helping students and guiding them the sometimes confusing path of online learning. I have trained my staff to refrain from being annoyed by difficult online students, who call often asking question after question about passwords, where to get their books, when to sign up for their test, and other questions that are often found in their syllabus. Instead, I argue, these are the students that we must help the most. This is where we can make a real difference. I can't tell you the number of students I've known personally - students who were on the verge of dropping out of college - who have gone on to graduate and become outstanding members of society and the workforce because we went that extra mile.

DLA Myth #1: Undergrads Can't Succeed Online

As a DL Admin guy or gal helping to strategically plan new DL programs, you may hear the same mantra that I do: "Online courses should really only be for graduate students." Yes, I know there have studies that shine favorably on the performance of online grad students over undergrads. Hey, but isn't the average grad student GPA higher than the average undergrad one? I know that it was for me. Undergrad student success in an online course is not just a function of maturity, but of the level of support available to the student. Spend a lot of time on orientations, easy-to-get support, and redundant emails (you can't tell them just once), and you're on your way to higher undergrad success. I also believe that once they have succeeded at one online course, the rest are far easier. I have an undergraduate daughter as well as several student assistants who take online courses. Their primary problem is usually just forgetfulness - they are taking five courses (not two or three like the grad student), and forget that the online quiz is due Friday at Noon. There are some great ways of addressing this, and I'll get into that on another day.