Management Issues

Some pointers on how to keep track of students in an online course.

Management of an online activity requires first having group members demonstrate the functionality of their equipment, connections and conceptual grasp for the online medium. If group members have never worked with others online before this will require a more meticulous approach than working with experienced members.

Provision for handling technical problems and questions needs to be prearranged or they will interfere with the execution of the online activity. It is a common mistake to underestimate the need for technical support.

Establishing the means for group conferencing needs to be addressed, whether it is having a listserv established by an Internet provider or using another form of group conferencing. Will old messages be accessible to allow for checking whether messages have been lost?

Clear expectations, due dates for required messages and deliverables can be recorded in traditional gradebook fashion with report card update messages sent on a preannounced schedule. Frequent confirmation of assessment measures are most important when working with those inexperienced to online group work.

Its a good idea to save all individual group member messages to create an available reference should the need arise; such as debate over whether a required message was sent on time, or not. Appending messages to a single file named with the ID of the group member is a good strategy. Similarly, transcripts of specific discussions can later be reposted for group analysis and reflection.

If you plan to use a shared files area for group members to upload and download files be sure everyone demonstrates the required skills early in the course and that you keep the area well organized, with an index file serving as a table of contents.