Let's talk discussion boards

My exact sentiments. I love the visual anonymity of online learning. I should be able able to pull out my smartphone and submit that clever response that has occurred to me as I am coming out of the gym.

 

I understand your point. When I was a student at Lamar and Liberty, I thought about that. Still, I had my photo on Blackboard. Most faculty were white. I still earned a 4.0 GPA at both schools. So, perhaps my looks didn't influence their grading.

In addition, if someone wanted to be racist, sexist, and the like, a face-to-face class would allow them to see the students. So, I don't know how showing one's face in an online course creates a unique opportunity for the things you mentioned to occur.

 

Yes, and it does happen in-person. I never meant that the discrimination is unique, but online classes do present a unique opportunity to not be discriminated against.

Maybe you didn't personally face discrimination, but that doesn't mean that there aren't students who get lower grades because they have something as simple as "the wrong accent" and the instructor deducts points for them being "stupid". I'd rather normalize leveling the playing field and ensuring that people get graded solely based on the quality of their work, not things like what they look like or what decor they have hanging in their rooms.

 

I thought about this too. I absolutely hate all pictures of myself. When I add a profile picture, most of the time I am using one from 10+ years ago. I occasionally use one that’s been altered by an app, depending on the situation.

I can also see how audio can lead to discrimination. There were times that I couldn’t respond because I was unable to understand someone’s accent. Or their audio presence was just too monotone for my taste. Since I went to a performing arts high school, I probably have a slight advantage. We had voice training from radio personalities. I can read something with all sorts of enthusiasm without even knowing what the heck I said. LOL.

 

While it wasn't my experience, I am not disputing that those things don't happen. However, I don't think that most professors (or people in general) are racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, etc. As an educator, I try to be as objective as possible. I ensure that every assessment (save for quizzes) has a rubric. I also use a rubric for the participation grade so students know that the criteria on the rubric guide my evaluation of their participation. I have a MOOC certificate in Teaching Adult Learners from Binghamton University. There was a section that addressed Avoiding Grading Pitfalls. The following two have always remained with me as a faculty:

1. Grading with spite. Occasionally (and usually unwittingly), teachers will
   mark down students simply because they don’t like them. Watch out for
   unconscious prejudices about your students’ personalities, political or
   religious beliefs, and so on, and make sure these don’t play any part in
   your grading. Also, if you’ve had an unpleasant encounter with a student
   in the past, set that memory firmly aside when you’re evaluating the
   student’s work.
2. Grading by assumption. This error, also called the halo effect, occurs
   when a teacher grades a student highly just because the student has a
   good track record. In other words, the teacher assumes that because the
   student did well in the past, she’s doing well now. The reverse—when a
   teacher assumes that a student is currently doing poorly because he did
   poor work in the past—is even worse. To avoid this mistake, grade on
   reality rather than expectations.

Anyway, the idea of leveling the playing field will never happen once humans are involved.

‘Jackass seh di worl’ nuh level is a Jamaican proverb or saying (if you will) – which loosely translates to, ‘ Jackass (donkey) says that the world is not on a level playing field.’

 

I think some of my son’s teachers need this lesson. I swear some of them reduce his grade out of spite. He has ADHD so he’s not always the best student. But he’s a good kid and not a troublemaker. Just has trouble sometimes remembering to turn stuff in or following directions 100%. On his Biology final, his teacher took an additional 10 points off because he didn’t get prior approval for his topic. But the approval for the topic was a SEPARATE assignment which was also worth points that he didn’t earn. I expressed my concerns that this deduction was outside of the rubric for the assignment and the fact that he had already lost those points on the separate assignment but they did not care.

 

That's unfortunate. I was going to suggest you point out the issue to the teacher, but you already did. What about escalating the issue? I imagine all schools have a grade appeal process where administrators will intervene and settle the case, which may or may not work in favor of the student.

 

I like this one, hahahah~

 

I have one class to finish my BSN (Nursing).

I am underwhelmed by the lack of effort many students put in DB posts. I posted this on my FaceBook page and was eviscerated by the younger generation who claimed there are several excellent reasons for such under performance.

Note a typical post of mine compared to another student in the same course.

 

Their response seemed underdeveloped. However, there's also a case for doing too much. I've had students who wrote an entire "epistle" with a bunch of irrelevant content. I don't give extra points for doing too much. I always have a word count requirement for threads and replies. Once students meet the word count and sufficiently address the prompt, I have no issues. I think it's essential to be concise.

 

How about a maximum word count that (in my opinion) makes it impossible to effectively meet the requirements of a question? [As in the attached screenshot]

 

"Accounting regimes are different in different countries because the laws are different. This makes accounting needs different as well."

Boom! Done.

 

... and the factors that impact their development and evolution? Perhaps another sentence or two.

 

I only stipulate a minimum word count for DBs (no maximum). For papers, I usually give a minimum and a maximum page count (typically 2-3 pages for undergraduates). I'm okay with them exceeding the maximum page count by 1 page. Anything over that, I'll give a warning that next time I will penalize them.



My DB standards for the upcoming semester.

 

Skirting awfully close to the 100 (150?) word maximum there.

 

This looks good

 

This is well done, and my approach as well! Some attempt to add this and that, forgetting the concept of the Discussion Board here it to simulate, at clase as possible, a classroom discussion. Let it flow and if you stimulate it by asking probing questions, the end result can be a thorough vetting of the topic.

I wish you the very nest!

 

I agree. My point is that the underdeveloped response doesn't answer the question. If a facilitator provides a prompt with several sub-questions, I try to spend no more than 1-2 paragraphs per question (if needed).

More to the point, however, is my consternation for the attitude that underwhelming responses are acceptable. This isn't merely reflected in DB posts, I see it in the loathesome group project as well. If ever the Pareto Principle has been in full demonstration - it is in the asynchronous group project.

 

She was my junior in high school. She makes me look short at 6 ft.

Hello from Jamaica