The Venting Thread

[arcturus]

@clean: One work-around for the technical delays is to have a time at which it is due, and a time (an hour+ later) at which submissions close.  This is a loophole for students who wait even longer to start the exam, but does provide an automatic grace period for those who run into technical difficulties.

I have already tried that... Blackboard puts the due date in the calendar, so I have had students attempt to take the exams 'on demand' and then complain that Examity would not let them take the exam, BUT Blackboard (to them) gave them the idea that they could still take it until the last minute.

That is unfortunate. There really is no good way to say: "The exam closes at midnight, except in the rare case where you have technical difficulties, in which case you can have until 1am, but you must have attempted to start the exam at least x hours before midnight."

[AvidReader]

A word of caution: if you do not already have an 8am (or 8pm) deadline established for your class, you will almost certainly get complaints from students who did not realize that the deadline was not midnight (as this appears to be the default deadline for most LMS). I have a 5pm deadline for all assignments in my course *except* for the exams (which I leave as 11:59pm). I always have complaints at the start of the semester by students who miss the submission window for regular assignments since it is not "standard".

Oh, good point. I do actually have a lot of work due in the mornings (usually at class time), but I can see that this could complicate rather than simplify things.

AR.

[the_geneticist]

A word of caution: if you do not already have an 8am (or 8pm) deadline established for your class, you will almost certainly get complaints from students who did not realize that the deadline was not midnight (as this appears to be the default deadline for most LMS). I have a 5pm deadline for all assignments in my course *except* for the exams (which I leave as 11:59pm). I always have complaints at the start of the semester by students who miss the submission window for regular assignments since it is not "standard".

Oh, good point. I do actually have a lot of work due in the mornings (usually at class time), but I can see that this could complicate rather than simplify things.

AR.

I keep the due date and time standard for each of my class sections (e.g. all worksheets are due 24 hours after the end of the class session) and list all of the assignments & due dates in the syllabus, but I still get complaints from students that it's "not the same as [other class]".  I know the hardest part of online classes is being organized and responsible, but really??

[smallcleanrat]

I really need someone to act like it matters whether or not I get my usual medications so I can avoid the suffering and dysfunction of withdrawal and symptom recurrence.

I'm so tired of trying to get yet another botched refill request fixed and getting nonchalant responses from either doctors or pharmacists. There seems to be no sense of urgency or accountability. And this has been true for multiple doctors and multiple pharmacies, so it's not a simple fix of simply switching to someone who might at least pretend to care.

I'm also numbly discouraged at how easily multiple episodes of convulsions have been dismissed. No doc I've talked to thinks it warrants a referral to a neurologist. "Did you bite your tongue or lose bladder control? No? Then it doesn't sound like a seizure." But...those things don't *always* co-occur with seizure...and even if they're not seizures, they're still *something* worth getting checked out, no? Apparently not.

It often seems like the implied message is "You don't have any real problems. You don't need help. You just need to learn to suck it up and live with it." And the fact that I'm not 'living with it' very well makes me feel like a failure.

[clean]

SCR,
would your episodes prevent you, in your opinion, from driving?

Perhaps a way to get the physicians attention is to ask, Well, Doctor, in YOUR opinion, is it safe for me to drive?  (IF no, then Who should you be referring me to?  IF yes, ask for that to be written in a letter so that IF you ARE in an accident, you can have documentation that may be required for a malpractice inquiry..... that should shock your doctor into a referral to someone! )

[smallcleanrat]

SCR,
would your episodes prevent you, in your opinion, from driving?

Perhaps a way to get the physicians attention is to ask, Well, Doctor, in YOUR opinion, is it safe for me to drive?  (IF no, then Who should you be referring me to?  IF yes, ask for that to be written in a letter so that IF you ARE in an accident, you can have documentation that may be required for a malpractice inquiry..... that should shock your doctor into a referral to someone! )

Since I apparently don't even reflexively put my hands out to break my fall, I think it makes sense to take driving off the table.

Driving actually did come up in the appointment; doc says "well, for now, err on the side of caution and don't drive"; he still didn't see a reason to look further into it unless it "gets worse"

Eh...is this normal?

These shaking/convulsing episodes are causing falls; doesn't that at least make it worth getting checked out?

I had a friend once who fainted when getting up from a meeting; docs had him go through a number of tests just to rule out anything serious (even though there are lots and lots of non-serious reasons why someone might faint when standing up). They never did find a cause and it never happened again, but it still made sense to get him checked. Isn't something like this in a similar category?

Over the last couple of years, I've gone to doctors regarding 1) frequent numbness in my hands and feet lasting hours at a time 2) pain, spasms and difficulty moving one foot/ankle and 3) unusual sensory experiences and all I got were shrugs. "It's probably nothing serious."

Well, ok...but why does that mean it's not even worth addressing?

I had a hand injury that I would have classified as fairly low on my list of priorities of health malfunctions, but the particular doctor I managed to see for it gave me a referral right away for getting fitted for a brace and meeting with a physical therapist. Now the hand is nearly back to 100% function and the pain that used to keep me awake at night clutching an ice pack is practically gone. Makes me wonder what else could be better if some of the other issues got more attention.

Feeling so fuzzy and tired from not having my usual meds, so not in the best state to be argumentative and assertive. I could really use an ally right now.

[the_geneticist]

SCR,
would your episodes prevent you, in your opinion, from driving?

Perhaps a way to get the physicians attention is to ask, Well, Doctor, in YOUR opinion, is it safe for me to drive?  (IF no, then Who should you be referring me to?  IF yes, ask for that to be written in a letter so that IF you ARE in an accident, you can have documentation that may be required for a malpractice inquiry..... that should shock your doctor into a referral to someone! )

Since I apparently don't even reflexively put my hands out to break my fall, I think it makes sense to take driving off the table.

Driving actually did come up in the appointment; doc says "well, for now, err on the side of caution and don't drive"; he still didn't see a reason to look further into it unless it "gets worse"

Eh...is this normal?

These shaking/convulsing episodes are causing falls; doesn't that at least make it worth getting checked out?

I had a friend once who fainted when getting up from a meeting; docs had him go through a number of tests just to rule out anything serious (even though there are lots and lots of non-serious reasons why someone might faint when standing up). They never did find a cause and it never happened again, but it still made sense to get him checked. Isn't something like this in a similar category?

Over the last couple of years, I've gone to doctors regarding 1) frequent numbness in my hands and feet lasting hours at a time 2) pain, spasms and difficulty moving one foot/ankle and 3) unusual sensory experiences and all I got were shrugs. "It's probably nothing serious."

Well, ok...but why does that mean it's not even worth addressing?

I had a hand injury that I would have classified as fairly low on my list of priorities of health malfunctions, but the particular doctor I managed to see for it gave me a referral right away for getting fitted for a brace and meeting with a physical therapist. Now the hand is nearly back to 100% function and the pain that used to keep me awake at night clutching an ice pack is practically gone. Makes me wonder what else could be better if some of the other issues got more attention.

Feeling so fuzzy and tired from not having my usual meds, so not in the best state to be argumentative and assertive. I could really use an ally right now.

No, it's not normal and the episodes are worth addressing.  Maybe find a new physician and lead with the "a previous doctor said I probably shouldn't drive".  If nothing else, they could try and rule OUT a bunch of possible causes: inner ear infection? extreme anxiety? blood sugar issues? blood flow issues?

[Caracal]

@clean: One work-around for the technical delays is to have a time at which it is due, and a time (an hour+ later) at which submissions close.  This is a loophole for students who wait even longer to start the exam, but does provide an automatic grace period for those who run into technical difficulties.

I have already tried that... Blackboard puts the due date in the calendar, so I have had students attempt to take the exams 'on demand' and then complain that Examity would not let them take the exam, BUT Blackboard (to them) gave them the idea that they could still take it until the last minute.

That is unfortunate. There really is no good way to say: "The exam closes at midnight, except in the rare case where you have technical difficulties, in which case you can have until 1am, but you must have attempted to start the exam at least x hours before midnight."

Hmm Canvas lets me keep submissions open, but they are marked late and I can decide what do with that. I have a standard policy that until I'm up and at work the next morning is the grace period.  I think its helpful to keep the actual time vague. In truth I'm probably not going to worry about anything being late till the afternoon, but in practice its best not to tell the students that.

[clean]

in thinking about this some more, some of this is the way Examity handles the registration problem.  I set everything up in Blackboard and IF I say that the exam is available from, for example, 8 to 10, they will allow students to register for slots between 8 and 10.  That is fine IF Examity is on time!  However, since Covid, they are extra busy, so even though a student has a 945 appointment time, it could be after 10 before an Examity person shows up and by then Blackboard has stopped showing the exam.

I suppose that a fix on my end (taking more of MY time again!!) is to set the exam windows for Examity and then adjust them after.

I will remember that.

The fix I decided to do, though, was to adapt what I do with my face to face classes.  No questions asked, if you miss an exam for any reason, the grade on the comprehensive final replaces the missed exam grade.  In this class the final (and only the final) is open book, so they may prefer that anyway!

[Caracal]

in thinking about this some more, some of this is the way Examity handles the registration problem.  I set everything up in Blackboard and IF I say that the exam is available from, for example, 8 to 10, they will allow students to register for slots between 8 and 10.  That is fine IF Examity is on time!  However, since Covid, they are extra busy, so even though a student has a 945 appointment time, it could be after 10 before an Examity person shows up and by then Blackboard has stopped showing the exam.

I suppose that a fix on my end (taking more of MY time again!!) is to set the exam windows for Examity and then adjust them after.

I will remember that.

The fix I decided to do, though, was to adapt what I do with my face to face classes.  No questions asked, if you miss an exam for any reason, the grade on the comprehensive final replaces the missed exam grade.  In this class the final (and only the final) is open book, so they may prefer that anyway!

Oh that's a good plan! I'm just never willing to have students get a zero on some significant portion of their grade because of a silly mistake. But, its maddening if that results in lots of work on your end to fix the problem. This way you don't have to do anything and can tell students "look, its ok, pay more attention to this stuff in the future, but just concentrate on doing well on the final." A good student who made a mistake can fix it, if this is part of a larger pattern, they'll mess up the final too, or not take it.

[downer]

Dear financial aid office assistant

I forwarded the message from you about needing to sort out financial aid to the student in question.

But why do you think the student is any more likely to pay attention to your message when I forward it than they are to when it directly from you?

My guess is the student has checked out, and the school has lost out on that money.

[fishbrains]

Okay, no more "faculty should work with students" from anyone unless they are able to define what they mean by "work with students" in precise terms. Should faculty accept any and all late work? Are there any limits to the number of absences students can accumulate? Should we just give Incompletes to students who didn't submit their work at all?

And no more shocked and disappointed looks when someone dares to ask, "What do you mean by 'work with students'?" and you don't have a functional answer.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr . . .

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I don't know if I should post this in the 'First World Problems' thread or here. Oh well.

I found out today that someone tested positive for Covid at the outdoor gardening event I hosted on Saturday. I will need to get tested. The thing that pisses me off is that we were supposed to get our second dose this Friday and I'm not sure if that will happen now.

I got locked out of my email this morning on my laptop, but not on my phone. After waiting the mandatory 30 minutes, I tried again and now I'm able to access email from my laptop. I suppose this was more of a 1st world problem.

[Caracal]

I don't know if I should post this in the 'First World Problems' thread or here. Oh well.

I found out today that someone tested positive for Covid at the outdoor gardening event I hosted on Saturday. I will need to get tested. The thing that pisses me off is that we were supposed to get our second dose this Friday and I'm not sure if that will happen now.

Ugh. That seems like a pretty low risk situation assuming everyone was outside and taking precautions, but still stressful and frustrating.

[ergative]

I ate something that disagreed with me last night* and was up at 4:00 this morning feeling unwell, vomiting at 5:15, asleep by 6, and feeling almost normal by 8. So now I'm working on my paper revisions, because those can't wait, and feeling somehow as if I deserve more of a reward for getting through my ordeal than just feeling better after a couple of hours. I haven't thrown up in almost two decades. This should be a big deal. Like, shouldn't I get a day in bed watching television? But I feel fine, now, and can't justify taking it easy. I have work to do!

I've booked time off for next week. I'm going to ignore that email SO HARD.