Classes begin next Monday, but class Blackboard sites went live yesterday.
Most of the students have not checked in. However, Industrious Isaac has already downloaded all available reading, and turned in the first three assignments.
It's either going to be a very good term or a very, very, bad one.
For your sake, I hope it's a good one...but keeners like this always make the job more difficult than it has to be.
ReplyDeleteOkay. The second comment above labeled from Great Lakes Greta is not the same person who posted first. I know, because I am the first person to post as Great Lakes Greta.
ReplyDeleteIt seems we have a significant troll here. From what I can gather, he/she has posted as other people in other threads as well.
Can something be done about this?
It could be worse. You could be me, who just received access to Blackboard two days before classes started. Back to coding...
ReplyDeletePickyHistorian, perhaps you need to use the release settings on your various assignments! Nip that one in the bud.
ReplyDeleteYou could also include a statement in your syllabus that assignments submitted prior to the first day of classes will not be considered for grading, and must be entirely redone to incorporate lectures given during the semester. Heheheh.
You know that there is a feature on BlackBoard to "hide" it from students, right?? Unless your school REQUIRES the site to be visible, why not just hide it until the first day of classes? Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteDouble-check for plagiarism, too. Nine times out of ten, if something is turned in super early, it's been copied.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who would just set those assignments aside, grade them with the others when they are due, and then scrutinize them for faults just like every other assignment (esp. for plagiarism, Ophelia!)?
ReplyDeleteI'd cackle witchily when the student failed. I'd also be very impressed if the student managed to do well despite the assignment being done so early and without any classroom instruction/guidance.
(But, c'mon, how many of our students could do an assignment well without our direct guidance? Maybe 10%? Hell, only about 10% of any class I have ever taught usually earned an A on an assignment even after a week of instruction and practice.)
Alas, the site is required to be live, as it is an entirely online class (meaning that all the materials are in place. (My other two classes are decently hidden until day one of class. Dr Mindbender, I feel for you; I had two weeks to pull a new online course together, and it was ... well, never mind, some of you may be eating.) However, there is a large discussion component, and I bet that students who do not take that seriously will not do well.
ReplyDelete*Grade* the assignment? Before classes start? And *what* were you drinking? (All said with a big grin.) Hell, no, I'd be drummed off College Misery, not to mention that I want to save what is left of my putative summer. And you bet I will be checking for plagiarism (though generally it is terribly easy to spot--even if I weren't good at picking out changes in sentence rhythm and tone, I tend to ask questions about source combinations that just can't be found online as a whole. That makes cut and paste jobs generally pretty obvious).
It's still summer ... time to hit the G&T.