I routinely send a standardized email to students who missed my class reminding them why it is important to come to class and how unjustified absences can impact learning.

Daniela Fontenelle-Tereshchuk yours was an excellent question and I imagine there will be 1000 answers because many of whom have taught online (myself for many years) will have developed best-practices for addressing the problem of student social-loafing or skipping online classes (likewise skipping f2f classes).

Rather than write about specific techniques, I will take a theoretical approach. Basically, I feel the answer to having students participate in online and or f2f classes is through the cognitive educational-psychology concepts, not penalities like attendance taking (I always refused to do that despite the universities I used to work for required that).

Instead of the negative, penalty approach to student attendance, I provided motivation, benefits, rewards for attending. Those rewards included explaining the details of how to solve my advanced math, statistical or managerial problems [which would later appear on tests, exams, and in project requirements]. Most students actually WANT to lean - this is why there are taking a degree. Of course many students want the credibility and job advantages of obtaining a degree, but in the workplace as I have proven students need relevant problem solving skills in any discipline (mine was business/supply chain management but I can add my colleagues from other disciplines like education, psychology, criminology, etc. agreed with me).

THe bottom line is to improve student learning, you have to address cognitive factors like interest, motivation, and desire to learn more (experiential learning and vocational social identity) - these are very advanced factors for a novice professor. Please ask questions or refer to the citations for more information. Hope this helps. Ken

Che, F. N., Strang, K. D., & Vajjhala, N. R. (2021). Using experiential learning to improve student attitude and learning quality in software engineering education. International Journal of Innovative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2(1), 16-38. doi:10.4018/IJITLHE.20210101.oa20210102 https://www.igi-global.com/article/using-experiential-learning-to-improve-student-attitude-and-learning-quality-in-software-engineering-education/20273133

Strang, K. D. (2010). Effectively teach professionals online: Explaining and testing educational psychology theories (2nd ed. Vol. ISBN: 978-3639230840). Saarbruecken, Germany: VDM Publishing.

Strang, K. D. (2013). Does cooperative e-learning improve graduate student project outcomes? International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 5(1), 42-55. Doi:10.1504/IJTEL.2013.055947, http://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=055947

Strang, K. D. (2016). Exploring the link between e-learning and performance through a learning analytics lens. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 27(2), 125-152. http://www.editlib.org/p/151251

Prof. Daniela Fontenelle-Tereshchuk

In addition to the previous excellent answer, I would prefer to try asynchronous eLearning (during the period of the term/semester), but it can be very risky & the course has to be prepared for that specific form of eLearning:

The following blog gives some possible general answers that I like in the case of my country since conditions have deteriorated very much, mainly poverty and lack of constant internet connection, they are very simple,

https://alldigitalschool.com/low-student-attendance/

but in our case, a very well prepare asynchronous 8 weeks course should cover the minimum requirement expectations:

Best Regards.

I send a reminder 2 days and a day before the lesson. I'll also make sure I personally reach to any of my students that misses a lesson; to know why.

Deniela, I'd suggest treating students with an essay: Why I played truant and how it affects my academic performance. Every time demand different explanations and points to explain how truancy affects studies.

It's obvious that different tricks should be used for different groups and subjects.

I hold the same opinion, incentives rather than penalties (negative ones). Facilitate attendance by making it a part of their final score.

I also have a rule - everyone has a right to skip ONE class with no excuse. As for the chronic absentees, well, there is almost nothing you can do about it, unless they realize it may lead to their dropout. Raising stakes, so to say.

I maintained a text-based service (Remind) that allowed me to get in contact wit the student more directly. If I received no answer I would the parent via the same method (if they were signed up).

It is important to note, however, that students have lives outside of the classroom. I taught high school and many of my students were dealing with family issues, financial issues and legal issues far beyond what we think of as things students worry about.

In our quest for rigor let's not throw compassion out with the bathwater.

assignment with dead line

After nearly two years of online teaching, from my own experience, I"ve come up with a few suggestions for dealing with low attendance:

1. Boost individualised learning

2. Frequently obtain feedback on your teaching method from students

3. Involvement of parents can also be helpful

4. Allow asynchronous learning.

I have used web conference technology and a learning management system during the online course: first, in the first lesson, I will tell students the course requirements and how I evaluate their performance during the lesson. Attendance is one of the factors I used to assess each student. second, I will organize various learning activities in each lesson such as discussion, group work, and question - answering to try to involve students in participating in the lesson. third, contact the absent student after class and remind him of the importance of attending class, otherwise, he may fail the course.

I do oral tests at the beginning of each class to review previous chapters or overview new ones. Often, I ask questions or I clarify points that I add later on to the exam. Haha! so my students don't like to miss my online classes. In addition to that, I give bonus points for correct answers. I don't like the idea of punishing students. On the contrary, I prefer to motivate them, call them by their names, and add some fun to the lecture. I hope this helps!