The other day, a student lamented my less-than-copious use of our college's website. "I wish you'd post everything on D2L," she said. "That way, when I have to be absent, I can just look there to find out what I missed."
Which is precisely why I don't put everything on this site.
Don't get me wrong: Like many of my colleagues, I rely on D2L as a place folks can access the course syllabus, handouts, and maybe even an internet link now and then. And I'm more than happy to help students by providing them with materials they may have missed as the result of an absence. But the very last thing I want is students equating a quick visit to a website as the equivalent of attending class.
I don't want them using a computer to get that information.
I want them to come to me.
Why? More later.
For now, I'll close with this: D2L (which stands for Desire to Learn) touts a unique ability to connect, engage, and inspire. This may very well happen when the site is used with careful intentionality. I'd argue, though, that how the instructor utilizes D2L has the potential to undermine the very thing it says it can do.
The very thing that I, as a teacher, want to do.
I'd venture to say that an indiscriminate use of D2L can foster disconnection and disengagement from, and maybe even apathy towards, the rich experience of participating in the community that is the college class.
I wonder whether my relying too heavily on something like D2L might enable--and even encourage--my students to slack.
As a teacher who hopes to prepare my students well, slacking just isn't the approach I want to cultivate.
Now, what do you think?
I like D2L though the problem I have with it is when a teacher uses it for EVERYTHING. One of my professor's does this and when I can not do the work then it is a problem. I do NOT have a printer and after class I must leave usually for work or I have to leave because I carpooled with someone cause I did not have the gas to get to school. Really in order to use it efficiently teacher's should learn to use it sometimes but NOT constantly! Plus for those who have internet that does not exactly do well (and can not afford a separate internet provider than he/she has) then the student is just screwed. Another thing is internet sites for these things are usually buggy. For instance mine sometimes will not even let me log in when I have a paper due which reflects directly to me, this can cause a student to fail a class and fall to far behind in college as a whole. College's need to use site such as this yes BUT not ALL the time.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Like you, I don't want to foster laziness or slacking in my class. However, I do think it is possible to use D2L in a way that encourages students to connect with each other, take responsibility for their own learning, and prepare for life after school. For example, I would prefer that a student who misses class use D2L's Discussion and Content tools to find out what they missed on their own instead of just asking me for the information. It's not that I dislike talking to or helping my students - I thoroughly enjoy getting to know them each year. I just feel, especially in web design (the subject that I teach), that's it is more beneficial for students to learn how to work with colleagues and use online resources to solve problems than it is for them to come to me. That's why I try to post as much information as possible to the class's D2L site make use of several external electronic collaboration tools. While I am more than happy to answer specific questions they have, I encourage them to check D2L before coming to me. I feel this prepares them for the work world, where they'll often be required to use the Web (along with their personal learning network) to stay on top of changes to corporate policies, industry news, etc.
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