However, because of students requests, I moved to more structure. Some students were very anxious because of their technology skills. On occasion, I set aside Tuesday for those students who needed assistance in technology or other aspects of the courses. Interestingly, most students who attended the optional sessions were the more technology-proficient students. In fact, I do believe that some students would have fallen through the cracks if I had not required attendance on the day originally designated as optional.
Positive expectations are essential.
However, what is sufficiently positive for one student is insufficient for yet another. I do, however, believe that I was better able to provide positive expectations of a personal nature through email. When students were excited and challenged, I could set expectations to get them to stretch just a bit more. I made comments about their work that indicated that they were performing like a master teacher. Whereas when I detected that students were falling behind or frustrated, I would give them a nudge.