In this new world of endless Zoom calls and Canvas pages, it can be hard as a student to keep up with everything. We are constantly clicking through pages to search for that hidden assignment we heard someone mention in class, or rushing to classrooms only to find out that class has suddenly moved online for the day. We certainly understand that it’s difficult to teach during these times as well, but this article discusses some things I think would improve virtual classes for all involved.
More than anything, be consistent. If your in-person classes always received a hard copy of the syllabus each semester that didn’t change very much over the course of the class, maintain that expectation. It can be very difficult as a student to plan your studying when classes start updating their workload week by week. The same way you would announce a due date change during in person class, that change should be announced in virtual class as well. It’s nearly impossible to check every Canvas page for every class every day. There have been countless times that I just happened to stumble upon an assignment due that day when the original syllabus gave us another week to work on it or it wasn’t listed on the original syllabus at all.
Another difficult policy I’ve encountered this year is professors making things due on weekends since handing things in physically has become outdated. While it’s great that Canvas allows for things to be turned in anywhere anytime, it can be frustrating to have assignments due everyday. When due dates never end, the days begin to blur together; everyday becomes a school day, and everyday becomes a day to work. If assignments for your in-person classes were always due the day of class, make Canvas assignments due the night before, or the morning of. Of course we can budget our time to attempt to avoid doing work on weekends but it becomes exponentially more difficult when there are assignments after assignments due seven days a week.
Just like you, all of us as students are doing the best we can under unthinkable circumstances. Some consistency in our classes goes a long way towards a sense of educational normalcy.