Comments on: online office hours

By: Must try harder? The problems of social media in academia

Must try harder? The problems of social media in academia — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:56:00 +0000

[...] space. These included the online publishing of lecture notes/reading lists and the hosting of online office hours. Whilst both useful and worthwhile uses of new technology their value as true social media is [...]

By: sciencegeekgirl » Online office hours: Real conversations in virtual spaces

sciencegeekgirl » Online office hours: Real conversations in virtual spaces — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:41:19 +0000

[...] Holding office hours online could have other benefits: [...]

By: Christy

Christy — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:22:16 +0000

I like the idea of online office hours. It is especially nice for those of us who do our work at odd times.

But, I still like face to face time too.

My boyfriend teaches philosophy and holds his office hours at the ERC downtown!

By: kaye

kaye — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:01:04 +0000

Debbie: if a student were with me in real life then those in the chat would just be able to hear our convo & wait for me to finish. If many students were in the chat room they would all wait turns to ask questions.

Karen: Great perspective. I can, though, see how talking more about up-coming test material might be interesting to all. I took a little poll in class today & a good number of folks said they liked the idea so I might try it this semester before an exam.

By: Karen Sines

Karen Sines — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:38:59 +0000

Eh, I don’t think I would like visiting with a prof via streaming video.

I did, however, LOVE the opportunity to instant message with you.

Maybe it’s a comfort factor with the video. But if I have a question/concern I need addressed immediately, e-mail or IM is perfect. If I want to SEE you, I’d rather stop by in person. If it’s a matter of getting to campus, I’d still rather e-mail or IM.

From the student perspective, I guess I don’t see the benefit of sharing my questions with the world. And I wouldn’t hang out in your video office hours just to see what someone else might ask. Maybe for that purpose it would be better to have a FAQ on a class blog or other outlet.

Regardless, I know students appreciate how forward thinking you are when it comes to technology!

By: Debbie Ebalobo

Debbie Ebalobo — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:05:12 +0000

Dr. Sweetser,

While you are speaking with a student over the stream and other students want to speak to you, do you merely put up a busy message or do they just come in the chat room? I wanted to know the logistics because it’s a cool idea but if it is an open chat where multiple students come in, then problems could arise. If this is so, then the willingness to ask a question to the professor would be hindered.

By: Tiffany Gallicano

Tiffany Gallicano — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:12:21 +0000

Kaye, thanks for sharing this idea. Office hours by video makes sense, especially if it cuts down on responding to e-mails. I would much rather talk than type with students. I think keeping at least an hour a week of in-person time is good to do as well to offset the drawbacks of video hours.

And congratulations on your recent publication!