1) How technology is changing the way our students learn
2) Email etiquette at university
3) How professors and students keep in touch
Student power
1) One student skipped class and then sent the professor an email message asking for copies of the teaching notes. Another didnt like her grade and sent a petulant message to the professor. Another explained that she was late for a Monday class because she was recovering from a party. One professor received a message from a student saying, Im not sure how to shop for school supplies. Should I buy a binder or a subject notebook? Would you let me know your recommendations? At colleges and universities, email has made professors more approachable, but many say it has made them too accessible. They say that students seem to view them as available round the clock, sending a steady stream of email messages from ten a week to ten after every class that are too informal or simply inappropriate. Michael J. Kessler, a lecturer at Georgetown University, says The tone that they take in an email is pretty astounding. I need to know this and you need to tell me right now. Its a fine balance to accommodate what they need and at the same time maintain a level of legitimacy as an instructor. We are authorized to make demands on them, and not the other way round.
2) Professor Patricia Ewick of Clark University, Massachusetts, said ten students emailed her drafts of their papers days before they were due, seeking comments. Ewick says, Its all different levels of presumption. One is that Ill be able to drop everything and read 250 pages two days before Im going to get fifty of these. Robert B.Ahdieh, associate professor of law, said he had received emails with messages such as youre covering the material too fast or I dont think were using the reading as much as we could in class or I think it would be helpful if you would summarise what weve covered at the end of class in case we missed anything. While once professors expected deference, their expertise seems to have become just another service that students, as consumers, are buying. So students may have no fear of giving offence or imposing on the professors time. Many professors say they are uncertain how to react to the emails. For example, the professor who was asked about buying the notebook said she debated whether to tell the student that this was not a query that should be directed to her, but worried that such a message could be pretty scary and decided not to respond at all.
3) Most professors, however, emphasized that instant feedback could be invaluable. One professor said that questions about a lecture or discussion indicated a blind spot , that the student obviously didnt understand something. Others have probably hit on the best solution by making rules for email: telling students how quickly the professor would respond, how messages should be drafted and what type of messages they would answer. Meg Worley, an assistant professor of English, tells students that they must say thank you after receiving a professors response to an email. The less powerful person always has to write back, she said.
