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?
