Well, maybe not easy. Hurricane Beryl did a number on us. Loss of power, some for a week (or longer). The college postponed the first week of our second Summer semester, so we turned a five-week course into a four-week course. I just lopped off the first assignment (as I had five) resulting in four assignments to be completed over the four weeks: two short essays of 750 words each and two Ungrading essays.
Another class of students who scratched their collective heads over the central tenet of the course, the Ungrading aspect. I've received numerous emails from students with questions, confusions mainly. "I've never had a course like this before" or "This is not like my other courses." Yes, and that's a shame your other classes are cookie-cutter, big box store replicas that have you regurgitate information instead of learning, I tell them. Of course, I go into detail about Ungrading in my videos, they just do not watch them, which is their baby to rock.
So, why do students not properly vet their potential instructors? In this age, there is no reason to fly in the blind. When I was in college, in the 90s, or "the 1900s" as my 11 yo son says, all we had was word of mouth and that was possible only IF you knew someone who had some info on the prospective instructor. Today you can view prospective instructor's syllabi online. Students can use online resources such as Rate Your Professor and other discussion boards. So, I went into my profile in Rate Your Professor. First time I did that in probably 20 years. Back then there used to be a "hotness" rating. Students would give chili peppers for attractiveness. They took that feature away I noticed.
Anyhow, I noticed that an exceptionally small number of students posted anything about the core philosophies: OER and Ungrading. While they rated me high in the various categories, they left out what I think is vital info on why students should or should not take my class. Info students must know before they walk into class. So, I asked my current students if they use RMP to talk about Ungrading, especially. Then OER secondly.
I go into some detail on the twin tenets of my courses: OER and Ungrading on my college's webpage, but I guess students are not checking out that page before signing up for my classes. So the question begs, how to get students over to my college's web page? I asked my current students to note the existence of that tool for determining a good fit (or not) in their RMP comments. Not sure if any of that sunk in, but if just a few will do that it might better assist students in their decision to take me or not. To determine if they are a good fit for my class.
So, here is my professional webpage: Dr. JRN. If you have not yet perused it, please do. And, I am always open to feedback on how to make it better!
Thanks for listening, now get back to work.
