The definition of a “session” is important because the word is referenced in the Los Rios Regulation R-2222. Ultimately, how this term is defined dictates the interpretation of attendance or the lack thereof.
The word “session” is defined in dictionaries as “a meeting of a deliberative or judicial body to conduct its business.” In the context of R-2222, the body is a class, and the business is instruction and other educational activities. The confusing part has to do with the term “meeting.” In a synchronous or in-person class, meetings (lecture or lab) are physical and well-defined by a time and a location. A person is either present or absent.
What about online classes that are 100% asynchronous without any scheduled time of meeting?
Even for asynchronous online classes, some activities have specific time frames. Specifically, there are due dates when certain activities must be completed. These deadlines or due dates can serve as a substitute for a session. Technically, these due dates serve exactly as the end of a session. What remains flexible is how each student allocates time to work during a session.
A meeting implies communication. In an online and asynchronous class, a meeting happens asynchronously. In an activity, for example, the prompt (questions in a quiz) is the instructor initiating, and the answer is the student responding.
Each class has a start date indicated in the schedule. Legally, students should not be expected to have to spend time doing any class-related work prior to this date. Let us assume this technical start date is on a Saturday (this is usually the case for classes that start at the beginning of a semester).
When the first session ends (and hence the work is due) depends on the complexity of the activity. For example, a light activity may involve the student filing a form to indicate various information with only some of the fields mandatory. For such lighter activities, a due date of the end of the following Monday allows 3 days for a student to respond.
Day 0 refers to the date when a class session starts according to the schedule.
| Day | What happens |
|---|---|
| -1 (Friday) | Send students a notification to let them know that the class starts in 24 hours. |
| 0 (Saturday) | Send students the first email/notification. Release the first activity that is due at the end of day 2. |
| 2 (Monday) | At the end of day 2 or the beginning of day 3, grade the first activity. Drop anyone who did not submit anything without an excuse. |
For this time frame to be reasonable, plan an activity that is relatively light, difficult for AI/bots to complete, and yet easy enough to grade. Here are some ideas.
Each student should be reading the syllabus as soon as possible. If the syllabus is available as a multi-page PDF, then it is relatively easy to ask about the page number of specific topics. Or, if the topics are in numbered sections, ask about the section number. To defeat bots, it is best to prepare a bank of questions and randomly choose a few for each student.
Canvas can grade this kind of activity. The only problem with this kind of activity is that any edit to the syllabus may necessitate revisions to the questions. The questions can be less brittle if they ask about quantities and numbers mentioned in the syllabus.
It may be necessary to set a threshold for “passing” to catch bots that randomly answer questions.
A typical discussion board activity for fully online classes involves answering the prompt and responding to at least two responses. Unfortunately, bots can now use ChatGPT and other GAI (generative AI) to automate the “participation.”
For a smaller class, the instructor can utilize GPTZero to automatically detect AI-generated text. Note that LRCFT members are automatically AFT members. AFT members can sign up for full access to GPTZero for free. Full access includes batch upload of text to potentially help improve efficiency.