Since I set the coursework I have only seen 3 students. I was anxious whether the students were aware the coursework was out and what the deadline was. I asked the students in week 7 whether they thought their classmates were aware of the coursework. They said they weren't sure and one student suggested I send an email through the Outlook system that required the student to answer "Yes" or "No" to whether they have downloaded the coursework. This seemed a good idea; those who do not answer can be more carefully targeted.
After the class I realised the VLP does this for me. It contains a document tracking system so I checked and all but 6 students had downloaded the coursework or been in a class where it was handed out. If they have downloaded it I am happy they are at least aware of it. There are several issues to bear in mind with this sort of automated tracking: a student could very well have printed more than one copy of the coursework or photocopied a friend's coursework. A colleague pointed out that students frequently change modules without deregistering properly and so are left as ghosts in the system. I have noticed a slight variety in students as I have gone on. In my register from the first week I notice that I have a couple of students who are no longer on the VLP register and that in the first few weeks I met all but three of the students yet now there are six in the system who I have not met. So there is clearly movement taking place.
