This post is the second part of a series, aimed at making online education more approachable. If you missed the first post, you can find it here. 

Previously I noted that, when talking to college students, a few themes emerge regarding the particular challenges of online learning:

1. It is much harder to stay organized and keep track of assignments when classes are online
2. Community is lacking in these courses and students don't know their classmates 
3. Courses are more self-paced, which requires more self-discipline to avoid falling behind 
4. Some professors do not make themselves accessible through zooms 

This post is going to tackle how to build a classroom community when everything is online. You might think that this is the professor's job, and it is (to an extent); but it is also your job. As bell hooks eloquently says: 

“When everyone in the classroom, teacher and students, recognizes that they are responsible for creating a learning community together, learning is at its most meaningful and useful.” ― bell hooks, Teaching Critical Thinking

In other words, there can be no classroom community without engaged students who are willing to take responsibility for their own education. Professors can hold office hours, create discussion boards, and encourage students to get to know one another, but ultimately only the students themselves can take the final step. 

​Students can help create community in their online classrooms in both large and small ways.

As we have all been thrown abruptly into the world of online education, both professors and students have floundered. While online classes have existed for some time, few of us were prepared - mentally or emotionally - to suddenly move entirely online. As zoom and asynchronous classes have over taken higher education, we all find ourselves needing to suddenly adjust our strategies and metrics for success. What does it look like to be a successful college student when libraries are operating with limited hours, study rooms are restricted, and your professor only holds online zooms instead of in-person office hours? 

Talking to college students, a few themes emerge:

1. It is much harder to stay organized and keep track of assignments when classes are online
2. Community is lacking in these courses and students don't know their classmates 
3. Courses are more self-paced, which requires more self-discipline to avoid falling behind 
4. Some professors do not make themselves accessible through zooms 

All of these concerns and challenges are very real, and frankly, they suck. But there are a few things that you can do to make them suck less, or at least lessen their impact and succeed in spite of them. I'll tackle these challenges in a short series of blog posts, aimed at helping make online classes just a little less painful. 

First, I'm going to tackle the challenge of staying organized in online classes, and I won't bury the lede. When it comes to keeping track of assignments for online classes, the key to success is actually exactly the same as it was for in-person classes. Read the syllabus. Print the syllabus and hang it on your wall. Frame the syllabus and hang it over your bed.

Here's the problem: professors are not necessarily any better at online classes than you are. Many professors have no experience, no idea, and no help with setting up an online class. They do not necessarily understand the user experience. Some professors might be putting discussion boards in one place, assignments in another place, and readings somewhere else; while other professors reliably use modules. Every class you take may be structured differently, according to how well or poorly the professor understands the learning management system and how much experience they have taking and teaching online classes. You cannot control any of this. But you can look at the syllabus, figure out what assignments are due when, and keep track of what you need and when you need to do it. In this sense, nothing has changed from when you took in-person classes. The syllabus is still God, and you can still put those deadlines on your personal calendar, keep track of readings, and find the class materials exactly the way you did before everything moved online. 

If you are taking four online classes, and each class has a different method of online organization, posts assignments in different spots, and readings are scattered across hell and back, then don't rely on the LMS (canvas, blackboard, whatever) to tell you what to do.

Take charge! Here's how

I haven't written many blog posts recently because, like many of you, I've just been trying to keep my head above water and get through the end of the semester. But here it is, we've made it through. Whether you passed or failed, are exhausted or invigorated, you are here. At the end of every semester, no matter the circumstances, I like to spend a few minutes taking stock of the last 4 months. 

1. What were your accomplishments? No matter how challenging your semester was, how exhausting your personal life was, how difficult the last six weeks were, you accomplished things. Write that list down and give yourself some major kudos. Accomplishments do not have to be awards or publications or anything else "big." Accomplishments might be paying your bills in spite of hardships; leaving the house regularly for a walk and staying stable during incredibly challenging times; realizing that you volunteered and helped others get through this time... 
   
2. What will you adjust, moving forward? No matter how much of a success my semester was, there are always areas where I think I could improve. In that spirit, I like to leave myself notes for the next semester. Small things I want to change about the classes I teach, the writing I do, or the way I approach my home routines. 
3. What are your goals? As I close out one academic semester, I like to think about my future goals - both big and small. Setting attainable short and long term goals is an extremely important driver in feeling motivated and working with purpose. If you know your goals, then you can begin to map out a path for getting to those things. These goals should fall into 3 categories: short, medium, and long term. I like to start with the long term goals, then work my way backwards. This allows you to think strategically about where you want to go and how to get there. 
   
   • 3 month goals: What are your goals for the summer / next academic semester? These goals center on things like grades, exercise, applications for jobs or graduate school, internships, etc. 
   • 1 year goals: This still falls into the "short term goals" category, and they are basically the same as above, but with a slightly longer time horizon. 
   • 5 year goals: These goals have to do with more major aspects of life and career. Where do you envision yourself being in 5 years? What would you like to be doing? These goals might center on career, home life, finances, or personal relationships. But they should give you an idea of some of the bigger things you are working toward in your life. These goals help us find purpose to motivate the short term goals. 
   • 10 year goals: These are big, long term goals. These goals are often more vague, and they might change over time. That's okay. Very few people (no one) really knows what their life will be like in 10 years. But, it's a good idea to have a general idea of where you see yourself going and what you might want to do to get there.
     

Once you have done all that, reward yourself because you are done! You accomplished some shit. You made it through another semester. You are a human being worthy of love, joy, and rest. Give yourself those things, because you absolutely deserve them. 

​Did you know you can nominate yourself for things? You can nominate yourself for awards, scholarships, fellowships, grants, etc. When it comes to scholarships in particular, you can, and should, actively seek out options and apply. Awards can be a little more specific. There are some university awards, for instance, that require a faculty member to nominate a student. You can ask a faculty member to nominate you for these. Your professors may absolutely love you and think that you deserve every award in existence, but perhaps the specific awards or deadlines aren't on their radar. It does no harm to bring it up with them. That being said, let's talk about how to ask a professor for a recommendation or nomination. 

1. Before asking a professor for a letter of recommendation, you should be sure that you have a relationship with that professor. This doesn't mean you are friends with them. This means that they know who you are. Ideally this should be a professor you have known for 2 or more semesters, who you have visited in office hours, and in whose classes you have made A's. 
2. You should give your professor plenty of time to write the letter of recommendation. Ideally, you would ask them at least a month in advance. However, two weeks may be sufficient if you are on a tight deadline. If you have to ask with even shorter notice, don't let it stop you, but be aware that they may have to say 'no' due to other, previous commitments. 
3. Ask politely. This can be in person or via email, but your request should be respectful and polite. 
4. Provide your professor with the information they will need to write the letter or make the nomination. A resume, personal statement, a reminder of the courses you took with them and your grade in that course, any information about yourself that you hope they will highlight in the letter, and important deadline and submission information. 
5. Finally, thank your professors (literally, just say thank you), and tell them the outcome! Email them and say that you got admitted to law school, got the scholarship (or didn't), etc. If they care enough about you to write a letter of recommendation, then they will also care enough to want to hear the outcome. 

Good luck out there, y'all, get those scholarships, get those acceptances, get those awards! 

I got really behind over the last two weeks, it doesn't matter why. The point is, this week I needed to dos some damage control and get back on track. There are two types of recovery that you may need to do when you get really off track or behind. The first type is the practical recovery of re-focusing and getting back on track. This involves many of the same steps as we've discussed previously regarding goal management.  

If professors were brave enough to get forehead tattoos, just about every single one of us would choose to have "read the syllabus" emblazoned across our faces. But, I'm not sure that everyone knows exactly what we mean by read the syllabus. Are we just asking that students look over the syllabus at the beginning of the semester? No. 

"Read the syllabus" involves much more than just glancing through in August / January, and you'll find that there are significant benefits to having the syllabus available throughout the course of the semester. For most professors, the syllabus functions as both a class calendar, and as a kind of contract. The syllabus contains most of the information that you will need to be successful for the class. Every professor writes their syllabus a little different, but almost all syllabi share some common components. Here's what to look for. 

Getting started on writing an essay for class, or anything else for that matter, can be incredibly challenging. Having the confidence to share your writing or knowing that it is ready to submit is even harder. Below are just a few resources that can make the process just a little less intimidating. 

1. Write shitty first drafts, then write a second draft, and a third draft, and so on. Eventually you will have written something that is not too embarrassing to share. 
2. Use the resources available to you. Almost all universities have writing centers and your tuition dollars are paying for the center - USE IT. 
3. Try reverse outlining. If you aren't sure that your paper is fully coherent or that it flows logically, making a reverse outline can help you clarify your main arguments and check for the logical flow of your paper. 
4. Read your work out loud. It feels really weird to do this, but it is an excellent way to look for grammatical errors and the flow of your writing. If what you wrote feels stilted and awkward to read out loud, it will feel the same for others to read. 
5. Use a checklist before you submit anything. This will help you catch last minute errors, ensure your citations are there, and verify that you met all the assignment criteria.

If you want to think more about writing, whether fiction or for an assignment, I highly recommend reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (excerpt linked above). 

The first week of classes is coming up. Are you ready? Have you thought about your academic and personal goals? There are a few concrete steps you can take to have a really successful first week back on campus. 

1. Make absolutely sure that you are enrolled in the correct classes for the semester.
2. Go through the university academic calendar and mark down important dates. Note the final enrollment dates, drop dates, holidays, etc. 
3. Mark your calendar with your own important personal dates, deadlines, goals, etc. If you're applying for law school, make sure you know when applications are due (remember, you need to ask for recommendation letters well in advance, but that will be a different post). If you're planning on taking any professional certification exams, what are the possible dates for those exams and how much time will you need to allocate for studying, in the lead up? 
4. Figure out your class schedule, which campuses / buildings / rooms your classes are in. Decide what your days are going to look like. There might be a certain day of the week when you need to remember to pack a lunch because you don't have much extra free time in your schedule, and other days when you'll have time to work at an on campus coffee shop for several hours between classes - know when those days are. 
5. Be aware of what you know, and what you don't know. At almost any university, your professors will have submitted to the book store in advance, the required textbooks for the course. You can find out which books are required in that way (and how much you'll need to budget for them). However, you will probably NOT have success emailing your professors and asking them to send you their syllabus. A few professors may have finished their syllabi weeks in advance, but just as many will wait until the last second to finalize details. You'll probably need to be satisfied with knowing the required textbooks for a course now, and waiting another week to find out all of the course deadlines and details. 

Finally, breathe, relax, and enjoy! All bodies and brains need rest - use the last week before classes begin to give yourself a little bit of rest and self-care. Read a book, get coffee with a friend, deep clean your apartment, do some meal preps to set yourself up for success during that first week back. 

So that's it - a few quick and easy ways to get yourself ready for the semester. Is there anything I've forgotten? What are the ways you get ready for the semester? 

After getting not one, but TWO, emails in the last 48 hours addressed to Ms. Clare Brock, I decided it might be time for a new blog post. This time answering the question: how should you address your professor? The short answer is that it is always acceptable to say "professor last-name." The long answer is that if they have a PhD, then they can be addressed as "Dr. last-name" or as "Professor last-name," but if they do not have a PhD then "Professor last-name" is still appropriate. You should not, however, address your professor as "Mrs. / Ms. /Miss" or "Mr." 

Who cares? Why does it matter? The answer has everything to do with respect. First, your professor worked very hard for their degree, and in doing so, built up a wealth of expertise. Addressing your professor by their appropriate title shows acknowledgement of that effort and expertise. Second, for women, people of color, queer or LBGTQIA folks, and other marginalized people in the academy, their fight has often been an uphill battle in institutions that are not built for them or for people like them. These faculty members often face discrimination and bias that follows them throughout their careers and works against their promotion and tenure (see literature on bias in student evals, for instance, here). Referring to these faculty members appropriately acknowledges their place in the academy and their hard-won position of (again) expertise. And if you're not sure about your professors degree, then "professor last-name," is always a good choice. 

As an undergraduate, you might feel uncomfortable or unsure about "office hours." What are they? What are you supposed to do or say when you go to them? Office hours are the time that your professors specifically designated to meet with students, answer questions, help with homework or essays, and so on. This doesn't mean they won't meet with you other times as well, by appointment. But office hours are YOUR time. 

What should you say? You might go to office hours with a specific question in mind. Maybe you missed a piece of the lecture or felt confused, or maybe you had trouble with a homework assignment or want to talk about an essay prompt. But, you don't HAVE to have a question about course materials. You can go, introduce yourself, and discuss college more broadly or just get to know your professor a little bit (and let them get to know you). Here are some suggestions for discussion prompts:

• I know professors sometimes do research, what do you research or what is your area of expertise?
• I'm really enjoying your class so far (only say this if it's true), and I'd love to find some interesting resources on the subject. Do you know of any YouTube videos or websites that I should look at?
• I'm a ____ major, and I'm taking this class because it is required for graduation. But, I feel like the material I'm learning might be useful to my major / future career - can you help me think about the connections between what I'm learning in your class and what I'm majoring in?
  
• Hi, I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself. I'm ___ and I'm majoring in ___. I'm really looking forward to what we are going to learn this semester in your class!

Why should you go talk to your professors? If you're planning to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation, it's very important that they know who you are. It is very difficult for your professor, who likely has hundreds of students each semester, to write a strong letter for someone they've never met. Visiting your professor early in the semester also helps break the ice, that way later in the semester if you find yourself struggling, you feel comfortable asking them for help, and they know who you are. Finally, your professors LIKE students (at least, most of them do). They want to meet you, hear from you, and help you! Hearing from you helps us do our jobs better.