Counterproductive Online Student Behaviors
TL;DR:
Counterproductive behaviors seen in online classes include students who chronically submit work late (Busy), careless writers (Oblivious), overly verbose contributors (Wordy), commenters who use inappropriate language (Coarsely), barely participating students (Disconnected Dan), students who focus on trivial details (Trite-ly), and those who derail discussions with niche obsessions (End-times Edith). These caricatures illustrate habits that degrade the learning environment. The page includes an acrostic poem about good online learning traits.
- Online students can sometimes make life exasperating for instructors as well as other students.
- Irritating online behaviors include being too wordy, using trite or even coarse language, frequently requesting deadline extensions, and disappearing from class for long periods without an explanation.
- Eliminating these behaviors will make life less stressful for both instructors and students.
Caricatures of annoying online student behavior
Behaviors like these degrade the learning experience for everyone in online classes. These caricatures are presented with apologies to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- Busy
Busy always has something going on and is continually asking for deadline extensions. Her excuses sound legitimate (after all, life can get hectic for everyone), but classmates wanting to include her in conversations have to look in previous weeks' folders because she's late doing her own work as well as responding to theirs.- Oblivious
Oblivious has trouble with homonyms. He uses sentence fragments far too frequently. His proofreading isn't particularly good. Whenever someone happens to mention it, Oblivious just laughs it off. He doesn't realize—or, worse, doesn't care—that his errors and sloppiness weaken the impact of his writing.- Wordy
Wordy thinks she's supposed to respond to every single post on the discussion board. Even when she doesn't say much, the time other people spend opening and reading her messages quickly adds up. Wordy occasionally has good ideas, but she writes and writes and writes. It's almost as if she cannot think without writing.- Coarsely
Coarsely seems to think the class is taking place in a high school boys' locker room. Inappropriate allusions creep into his posts. Then, when others protest that his humor needs cleaning up, he whines that he is the victim.- Disconnected Dan
Dan has other priorities in life. Days go by without anyone hearing from him. People ask him questions on discussion boards, and he doesn't respond. One gets the impression that Dan reads only enough posts each week to make everyone think that he is there.- Trite-ly
Whenever Trite-ly responds to a post, you know it's going to be about some insignificant detail. Her posts have little to do with actual course content. Trite-ly always seems to operate through very loose associations.- End-times Edith
Edith's all-consuming passion is eschatology (the end times). She finds signs of the end in everything, even in numerical codes she derives from the letters in the names of textbook authors. She is not about to let the subject of a particular course force her to concentrate on something else.
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
Acrostic: Being Successful in Online Learning
O — Organized: Keep track of assignments, deadlines, and study materials.
N — Necessary discipline: Stay focused and committed to learning.
L — Logical thinker: Approach assignments critically and analytically.
I — Independent: Take responsibility for your learning and stay disciplined.
N — Networking: Engage with classmates and instructors for support.
E — Efficient: Manage time wisely and avoid distractions.
More acrostics on this site
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