The Wednesday deadline for an initial post worked well because a few of my other online classes also had this type of deadline. I really liked this deadline because some weeks are busier than others. It was nice to log in on Wednesday or Thursday and see posts that I could reply to. In other classes, students would wait until the very last minute and it would become a strain because I would have to depend on other students to their homework so I could reply to them.

I think that the forums are a great and inavative weekly project. They provide online students with the required communication and analysis needed to understand the material. My only concern is that you grade them to harshely. I dont know about other studetnts, but I think my forum grades were not reflective of the time and effort I put in my posts.

For me it was difficult to be docked points for not posting throughout the week and having an initial deadline on Wednesday. The material was thick and difficult to understand, so it took time for me to dig through it and pull out information that was relevant for me to discuss, but since I am a student teacher in the public school system, it was difficult to find the time throughout the week to engage in the discussions. I found myself missing the Wednesday deadline and, feeling discouraged at my perceived incompetence, therefore missing the end of the week deadline. I would have preferred to write a paper than try to participate in forum discussions.

I felt the forums were a waste of time.

Note to future students.  This class requires forum work.  If you will not do the work, take another class.

Many times I felt after reading the discussion forums I felt I only needed to post one time to get my opinion, point, information, etc across. My posts were lengthy and I often felt I didn't need to post more than once. I would try to get the points but some weeks I would have things going on in other classes, or having a busy week at work and it wouldn't make it to the top of my priority list to post again on Sunday. 

There was a lot of information to take in every week. a Lot Of times I did not check the calendar and just started my reading for the class especially since I had other classes with earlier due dates for the week. the Forums aren’t my favorite. Maybe re adjusting the amount of forums you would help and making sure that you make it clear how many post a student has to make. How many sentences it has to be. 

I am not going to get an A in this class mostly because I was confused about the first video quiz and also because I received a bad grade on my first forum. I wish he could have been a little more lenient on the first forum as I was just getting used to the course but oh well. 

I think requiring posts by specific days before the due date are a bit unfair. I personally work 40 hours a week and don't have much if any time during the week to post before the weekend. I personally got good grades on the forums even though on half of them I missed the Wednesday deadline. Not posting throughout the week and waiting until Saturday or Sunday to complete posts shouldn't matter if they are well thought out.

First, working 40 hours a week in addition to taking a 4 credit class is a serious issue.  Second, the forum instructions were clear.  Forums are discussions, NOT simply a place to publicly post homework assignments, which is what they would become if all work was due on the weekend.

I am a slow thinker and I did not want to write a comment without thinking it through. So I waited for other students to write their comments and realized that they wrote nonsense just to get credit throughout  the week. 

Have no fear. Students who wrote nonsense did not receive any points for their work.  The instructions were very clear how many points each type of response would receive.

I enjoyed the forums and feel I should have actively been involved in all of them rather than only half of them. 

Possible whole class forums for one week could be beneficial 

I can honestly say that don’t like the forums but can appreciate what they are meant to do and intended for; I’m one of those students who doesn’t usually speak up in class and this on class made me get out of my comfort zone. Which was good overall.

I think the extra credit assignments are nice to have for those students who want to do the extra work for it. I only did one of them because I only had enough time for one of them. The assignment that I did do was an interesting and I enjoyed writing and researching it. 

I love that you give the oppurtunity to give extra points, I just wish they were added to the whole grade, rather than having to make another aspect of the course improved.

This form has questions that will be useful to you as a teacher, it is a good extra credit opportunity.

The extra credit was unrealistic in addition to the rest of the workload expected of us.

Note to future students.  Extra credit work is work IN ADDITION to what is already expected of all students.

I think extra credit opportunities are always a good thing to offer. Personally if I feel comfortable enough with my grade, I won't do extra credit because it isn't necessary which is why a lot of students choose not to. But for that student who may be on the edge of failing, extra credit can make a huge difference. If they're willing to put in the work why not allow them the opportunity? 

I planned on doin the second extra credit but i just ran out of time before I could get it done. Extra credit is great. 

I did not participate in the second extra credit opportunity because it did not really do anything to help my grade and there is already a ton of work in this class. 

I think the way that you did extra credit was well thought out. My thought is most people who are looking for extra credit are looking for easy points and the options that you gave took time and considerable effort. In my mind that is the reason why people didn't do them, laziness. And that is probably the reason why they needed extra credit in the first place. 

I had a hard time writing essays before and after reading the requirements of the essay I knew that I wasn't going to be able to earn any extra credit. 

I probably should have taken advantage of at least one of those extra credit opportunities. It would have helped me raise my grade to what I would rather have it at.

Maybe one extra credit an essay like you had, and the second opportunity could be something different

It was a good opportunity that I didn’t take advantage of.

I decided to rent the online cengage text book for this term. I had never had an online textbook before and thought it was going to be a strain on my eyes. I read the chapters in sections and I enjoyed being about to highlight parts of the chapter. The cengage program would take my highlights and make a notes page for me. I would have usually wrote down notes on flash cards or quizlet, but the automatic highlights notes were much more efficient. 

I am also taking American Cinema this year and it does require a textbook. But along with the course work we needed to watch free "programs" on an American Cinema website. These hour long video clips were helpful learning about topics that were linked to the textbook. 

I love how you run your course. Especially the Vietnam war history course.

I prefer to have a textbook, I don't like trying to read a lot of material online because it strains my eyes.

The book was fine.

This would not be ideal for me because I have vision problems that make it difficult for me to read from a computer screen, even with glasses. I know other people with the same issue. Also, I don't own a printer. I live in a small apartment like many other college students and can hardly afford groceries let alone an expensive printer. Printing costs at school, and at FedEx. It sounds great in theory but in reality there would be many issues with this. 

I think the hard part about that is that there is so much reading and it is a little harder to do a bunch of reading on the computer. And to print all our reading out would have wasted a lot of paper and ink. I have found that having an actual book makes it easier then reading online on an ebook

My other class uses free materials, and it was nice to not need to by a new book

I have never taken a class that used just free online material and although it stinks to have to pay so much for a textbook it s nice to have everything right there in front of me in my textbook. 

The cost of textbooks is ridiculous. Especially for me as someone who already has a degree so I don't have access to fafsa or help buying books. I would greatly appreciate online resources over buying textbooks. If someone doesn't like reading online they can always print them off. 

I personally like paper. I like to be able to write notes on it. By you giving us the first chapter online I was able to print it and take those few papers with me everywhere. And yes, Books are very expensive. I notice that the electronic version is cheaper now. 

I prefer to read an actual textbook, but in any case I would buy a necessary textbook for a class. One online history course offered free readings and materials and it was beneficial for me to not have to pay more for that term if possible. If I'm required to use the internet for homework I often times do. 

I personally am able to buy and afford textbooks so it wouldn't matter for me either way, however it would be nice to not have to buy a textbook.

I am okay with having to buy/rent a textbook. I prefer textbooks over online links.

I work long hours on the weekend and it was a strain for the Video Quizes to only be open on the weekends. It always felt like I was rushing to get it done because I schedule school work during the week days. If the Quizes opened on Thursday, that would have been helpful.

Note to future students.  Be sure to communicate with your instructors.  I sure wished you had contacted me.  I would have gladly made them available earlier. 

If I was happy with my grade

Lower the work load. 

the hardest part was there was so much information to cover all at one time or each week. 

Possibly a study guide to help guide a student on the more important material.

I did provide a textbook reading guide and a study guide before the midterm and final exams.

I think you pretty much covered everything

I like the way this class has been. I think compared to other classes I've taken at Lane this was much more organized and better put together. 

Other options than to write and essay for extra credit.

Do you have any suggestions?

Allowing students to retake quizzes as practice for midterm and final, even after the deadline just not for a grade. 

It is a well organized online class. No suggestions from me are needed.

None.