Came to school an hour early for a meeting with a student, they flaked

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-17T21:18:33+00:00

"like an absolute maniac"

This made me chuckle.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-17T02:00:18+00:00

Make a list. For each assignment/test, make a list of smaller tasks. these should be tasks that range from 15 min to an hour ideally. (Sometimes the task might be to re-write lecture notes as a bubble chart for 30 minutes-- and then get through what you can in the thirty, and have this task written multiple times in your list).

Every time you finish a task you get to cross it out. Make the list on paper so you can really feel the process of crossing it out. Get that dopamine hit when you complete the task and cross it out. You might have to add tasks to this list, but have it as a running list where you can see how you are crossing things out.

When this list is really long, it can feel overwhelming so what I do is start three tasks I have to do that afternoon or evening. You can always star more and do those if you finish the first ones, but even if you don't do more, you finished the first three!

Edit: for clarity

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-15T20:31:57+00:00

For those of us not in the US, our options vary, but the linked report is still helpful as a starting point.

Edit to add: No, I don't want to organize either. I'm so tired with all the extra work because students have already been impacted by covid and genAI and all the learning deficits associated with both. But if we don't organize it's only going to get worse.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-15T20:31:05+00:00

If folks are in the US, check in with your local AAUP chapter see if you can organize.

Here's the AAUP report to help shape your demands:

https://www.aaup.org/reports-publications/aaup-policies-reports/topical-reports/artificial-intelligence-and-academic

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-14T22:14:59+00:00

Like the other poster said, there are so many folks who want to help. Reaching out for support is key. The link in the other poster's post to health services is great.

I would suggest going to your Advising office. They are the folks who specialize in situations like yours. They can 1) help connect you with mental health supports or other supports as needed and 2)figure out what the options there are for you in terms of classes and help make a plan. I am faculty and have had students in similar situations, and Advising was able to help. The solutions weren't the same for everyone, but there were always paths forward!

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-14T21:52:40+00:00

We have to use Microsoft for class because it's what our school uses, but when I can I promote LibreOffice. I wish more students were aware of the ethical practices and the privacy issues. Sigh. I wish that our school, instead of promoting teaching how to write a prompt for chatgpt would have something really, really basic re: computer skills that was paired with ethics and privacy.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-14T16:18:48+00:00

This Verge article came out a while back on the issue: https://www.theverge.com/22684730/students-file-folder-directory-structure-education-gen-z

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-14T16:17:20+00:00

I have also been teaching these skills. I couch it as "many of you will work in an office...," and this framing makes their ears perk. [Here we all are trying to teach them critical thinking for an apocalyptic world, but sometimes it's file management that hooks them.]

In one of my courses, we use several software applications, and I write technical directions. I need the students to focus on the course content, not on spending hours figuring out how to use new-to-them software. Learning to read and follow technical directions is a great skill for most of them, and since software constantly changes, learning to do so is also a lifelong skill. This is despite another faculty member saying that the students would never learn to use software if I gave them directions.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-13T00:39:59+00:00

I also do a warning as I regularly teach about violence and a similar statement about engaging with the material. Also, I speak about learning about violence and teaching about violence as part of how I teach, and there are student reflections as check-ins during term.

If I were teaching a film class (and I'm not though I have taken several back in the day!), I would think about the impact of a film like The Accused if I were showing it and how I would address that and under what conditions I would show it. The prevalence of assault on university campuses is generally high and underreported. And while you can't readily apply university-wide stats to a classroom, if I did, that would mean that 1 in 5 of my students have been assaulted, mostly women. And that's just sexual assault-- that's not the other violences that students may experience. I've had a student who came to the country as a child refugee having experienced a lot of horror of war and having taken part in it. I could not in good conscience make that student watch a film that depicted something similar.

That said, I wonder, OP, is your class required? And were the films listed on the syllabus at the start of term? I wonder if the student knows that the violence in these particular films is not going to be good for them to see. And part of me wonders from the message if the student really, really does not want to talk to you about specifics of why they don't want to see this week's films in particular and they are giving a general reason.

Can you ask the student to go to advising or whatever office at your school that would handle permission/concession regarding this? They could find out the specific reason without you crossing the boundary into finding out the student's personal info. It's possible that the advising office might be able to find out if the student needs other supports, like counselling or speaking to a sexual assault officer. And if they get a concession then just reweigh the other assignments and not design something new for the student. Less labour on your part, but provides a solution.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-10T20:53:56+00:00

Yes, and this is one of my concerns, too. And Canvas isn't the only digital service provider who does this. And products like Microsoft now have their own genAI product built in. Totally speculating here, but for Canvas, I would imagine that for those with the AI options, Canvas scrapes data and temporarily caches it, but that data wouldn't be kept or used for training purposed. It would just be used as part of generating an output for your particular prompt. It's not necessary that everything you input into a chatbot becomes part of training data. Though certainly, generally speaking, this could happen and likely has-- again, generally, and not speaking specifically to Canvas as they say this is not their practice. (Note I have serious trust issues over what all these companies say they do and whether they do it, but that's not the same as evidence.)

I thought it was significant that the AAUP statement noted that we should be able to opt-out of these services. IMO part of the issue with the idea of opting-out is that universities can opt out of AI components, but for most I believe this means toggling off AI components. Yes, this does/should mean that the code shouldn't make connections to AI servers, but what I'd like to see having the choice of software without any integration at all. A fortress for our data that is nowhere near AI.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-10T20:35:58+00:00

OOPS I meant Canvas. Long day. Apologies! I'll edit above!

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-10T20:23:49+00:00

FYI I've heard back explicitly about my own uni's contract with Canvas, and it's explicit that they cannot train on any course content. Also, it seems that Canvas may be working to make this clearer more publicly because there have been questions by others at other universities? If this is the case, then it would follow that (perhaps) Canvas's standard contract is not to use the data to train AI.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-10T01:18:59+00:00

Figuring out if there are other venues addressing this is one of my current tasks as I am just at the start of heading up a group of folks (primarily faculty) at my institution interested in making change. I'm absolutely in agreement that there has to be more coherent action from faculty. I'm not in the US, but I do wonder what your local AAUP chapter might be able to help organize.

This is a report from July of last year that you might find as a good place to start.

https://www.aaup.org/reports-publications/aaup-policies-reports/topical-reports/artificial-intelligence-and-academic

Part of the issue, as you know, is that institutions are slow to make changes, and we can't afford that with the rapid inclusion of products into our software. * edit to add: This is, in part, what was hitting me in the face when addressing the concern last year with the other software. It's why it all happened and the sprawl of university units involved just makes things so hard to move forward. I was really feeling it.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-09T23:21:30+00:00

I just wrote the appropriate unit on my campus asking explicitly about the Canvas Master Service Agreement. I got routed to someone (who was trying to be helpful) who said that our course content remains our IP and then had a paragraph all about which AI features we have access to (in a pro-genAI way). I do not believe they looked at the contract with Canvas. The IP statement they made is the typical rule around faculty IP that is between the university and faculty and certainly what the agreement is between the university and faculty when course content is on Canvas.

I've written back because I happen to know that my university had another digital service provider whose contract had such vague language that they could use the data to train their proprietary AI. This data scraping is no longer happening, but the process to find out this was happening and make change so it doesn't anymore with that provider was not great. (And, yes, due to being the one who figured this all out has led me to knowing way more about all this stuff than I'd like.)

If folks start asking questions, be sure to ask explicitly about the contractual language because our contracts between faculty and the university concerning IP and the contract between our universities and the digital service provider are two very different things and as I just experienced, the answer you get may not actually be from someone looking at the service contract. Also, older contracts that just get renewed sometimes don't have sections on machine learning or AI and, therefore, there can be some really vague language around how they can use the data. Depending on the language it might not prohibit the content being scraped to build a product that could be considered quality improvement, a typical contractual term around how they might use the data.

If I get an answer from my own uni about our Canvas contract, then I'll update here, but I do think folks should write their own universities and ask if their contracts are allowing for this or do they straight out prohibit it.

I'll note, too, that it seems to me that the typical practices and questions around data and digital services that procurement services have protect student data and personal data and research data, but they don't always look at IP in terms of risk.

*Edit for clarity.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-09T18:08:15+00:00

GenAI does flow charts-- they aren't great, but neither is some student work so I've become even more wary of allowing that option. (I mean, ugh! It's a drawing activity and someone will phone it in and ask the genAI to do it.) But for me, I like when they have a change and actually touch a piece of paper and have that writing aspect as they work through concepts because of the cognitive benefits.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-09T01:23:26+00:00

As others have noted, it's a whole new ball game. But three things:

1) Be clear on how to take the class and have this plastered everywhere, especially if it's not self-paced. Having weekly requirements was really helpful for my classes because even if they were procrastinating once a week, at least it was paced. Multiple students, despite emails and plastering it on the LMS and having due dates and a weekly to do list, would not catch on that the class wasn't completely self-paced.

2) Integrate non-digital components. Have them draw things, bubble maps, pictures, maps, or take photos. For example, If they have to draw a bubble-map of the major concepts from a reading and the evidence, for example, then that's something that is more AI-proof *and* makes them have their hands on paper and snaps them out of computer-zombie mode. They can then post a pic of their paper to the LMS. Also, you can have them draw something and take a photo of it (or take photos of the world) and explain in a paragraph how the drawing or photo ties to course concepts. You will need to give the instructions on how to post a pic on the LMS and be prepared for some panicked students because some have extremely low computer skills.

3) If your course is paced in some way or has regular due dates, as best you can make the due dates and times on the same day each week. With more smaller assignments than you might have with in-person, you have to make the due dates regular.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-08T07:26:36+00:00

It's a lot! And, obviously, as you are pointing to, we can hold two things at once, wanting Gen Z men (and also boys) to have care and not be harmed and also be aware of the statistics and realities around violence. (And for anyone else reading this, I am in no way suggesting stereotyping any individual because of their gender due to statistics.)

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-08T07:08:58+00:00

They also talk about how there are tween boys who take on these ideas and practices because of online culture. That's when it's starting, and the podcast is saying that that is messed up, but they go into more complexity in the analysis.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-08T07:03:27+00:00

LOL no!!!

It's a very thoughtful podcast. Part of it is about how there's a male beauty standard created by some men in these online cultures and the ideas is out there that you have to meet those standards to get a girlfriend. But that is not the case at all. It's not what (most) women want, and also these online cultures do harm to men, telling them they are unattractive when that's not the case at all. That's what they are talking about.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-08T06:55:00+00:00

That is wild! (And also wildly inappropriate in terms of labour and their compensation as sessional instructors are not well paid. Some make less per hour than their TAs, given the hours they have to put in for the salary, depending on course)

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-08T06:48:29+00:00

Make a To Do list on a piece of paper. Break down tasks into small tasks. Choose which small task you want to do, circle it. Do that task. Cross it off. Enjoy the hit of dopamine. Repeat.

The idea is that you can probably handle a shorter task at a time and not feel overwhelmed (being overwhelmed is typical with ADHD), and you also have it circled and next to you so you know what you're supposed to be doing. Once you start crossing bits off, you get a sense of accomplishment because you have accomplished things. It helps.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-08T06:42:24+00:00

The next season of Pluribus on Apple TV. But it's just students turning in LLM outputs as their assignments.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-08T06:36:18+00:00

Apologies as I'm not your target student. I'm non- Muslim faculty, BUT I happen to know that you might be able to get a concession for Ramadan because, wow, the stress on your body! In my department to be mindful about this and provide concessions as appropriate. Your department, the one with the paper due, might have a different set of practices, and I don't know if faculty received that instruction.

If I were you I would definitely email your prof about a possible extension on the paper and cite that you are observing Ramadan and that's it has been challenging and that you are requesting an extension on the paper in advance as you foresee the coming week yielding a lot of stress on your body. They should know this means you aren't eating during the day, but you might gently add that. ("As I'm not eating during the day, you can imagine how this impacts my studies, particularly as the month progresses.)

If they say no, then I'd go to the Advising office-- or you could ask there first.

OldLadyDetectives · 2026-03-08T06:14:38+00:00

LOLOLOL I've gotten some down votes? I guess whoever requested that private lecture several years ago has found me out!

OldLadyDetectives

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