Connecting with Students through Electronic Classrolls

by
Rosalie Kolesar

InterAmerican

Electronic classrolls are a great way to connect with students while saving instructors time.  They can be found in the employee section of the Miami Dade College webpage under faculty resources.  For students who are technologically challenged or might have problems with their e-mail accounts initially, this is a great opportunity for them to partner up with more computer savvy students in the class and work together until they are up and running on their own.

Here is a list of ways that you can use electronic classrolls in your courses:

• welcome students to the class
• send your syllabus
• send review or practice sheets for tests
• give feedback on their progress and grades
• alert them to test dates and information covered on the test
• follow up on students who are not attending
• give homework assignments
• inform absent students of the homework for the next class
• send links to useful websites for them to practice outside of class
• forward messages about scholarships or other beneficial information
• notify them of upcoming events on campus, at the college, or in the community

Since I have been using electronic classrolls, my students have begun to take more responsibility for their learning.  They enjoy getting e-mail from me and many write back.  They even write to notify me that they will be absent and ask about the homework for the next class.

The biggest benefit for me in using electronic classrolls is that I have a vehicle to reach out to my students on an individual basis and can devote extra time outside of class to their particular needs.

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