Up on My Soapbox

Though I do agree that there’s no such thing as a “dumb question,” I feel the need to briefly get up on my soapbox this morning. I promise I won’t be up there too long.

Students this semester, especially but not exclusively those in my online classes, are asking questions. That’s a good thing. It means they’re engaging.

However, they are questions that would be easily answered without asking me directly if they’d do two simple things before asking:

1. Read the information I write for them (through e-mail, on my blog and in BlackBoard/GeorgiaVIEW)
2. Listen to what I tell them (face-to-face, or in synchronous sessions or recorded and posted either on my blog or in BlackBoard/GeorgiaVIEW)

In at least 75% of the cases (and I really am tracking it this semester), the questions that they’re asking have already been addressed. Clarification questions? I welcome those. But basic questions like “how do I know what I’m supposed to include in my blog?” Those are a horse of a different color.

There. Now I can step off my soapbox and get back to helping my students become independent learners.

(NOTE: Ever wonder where the expression “on a soapbox” came from? Wikipedia to the rescue.)

Cross-posted from my Becoming Learner Centered blog.