Timing in an online class

In an online class there is the question of timing. Should the class be kept to a schedule? Can students work ahead? What happens if the student’s work is late and handed in at the last minute?

In considering this question we need to consider if this is an independent study class or if students will learn from not only the material, but also from each other. Will we strive to form an academic community? Learning communities do foster collaboration, cooperation and community http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed01/19.htmlhttp://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed01/19.html  and unless there is a compelling reason to allow students to work at their own pace it is worthwhile to have them engage in discussions. To do this we must require that students be in the same time frame.

Students need to know this at the start of the class. There is no guarantee that merely noting this requirement in the Syllabus will result in students realizing it. A quiz or a “Scavenger Hunt” can engage students in reading the Syllabus.  In my undergraduate online course I require students to return to me a “Letter of Agreement” in which they acknowledge that the assignments are time sensitive and that credit will be deducted if late. Those strategies usually take care of most lateness. Of course, once in a course the student may have a problem, and if they contact me I usually work with them, but only once.

What about the students who want to work ahead? I will usually allow this but I will not grade their work until the due date. I explain to students that I like to grade all homework assignment together because I believe I can be more objective when I do. In the very first assignment if students submit before the due date I usually acknowledge the receipt of the assignment because I want the student to know that it is in the right place. 

What about discussions? In online discussions I require two separate dates. I usually pick Wednesday for the first response and Sunday for the replies. I do have the discussion available on the previous Saturday so if students want to submit their work early they may. I realize some students do not want to do any work on the weekends, and having the discussions up early allows them to post on Monday, and usually they can reply to others before the weekend. The Sunday date for replies is problematic because I recently had one student reply at Sunday midnight and of course by that time the class had gone on to the next discussion. I am thinking of changing the deadline for replies until Sunday at 3 PM.