What a time to come back to ALPS! I’ve been absent the last few months as I started my new job as Associate Director of the Teaching Excellence Center at the US Naval War College. But with the sudden move to online teaching due to the coronavirus, I wanted to stop by and offer my top five things for faculty to consider as you make the move to online.
#1 Accept we can’t do everything we had planned. This is okay. We are ALWAYS making choices about what content to cut, as we know there is always greater breadth or depth we can bring to the table. A US Politics course has already cut content on Congress to one week, when they know they could offer an entire course on it. So, be brutal, focus on essentials, and cut back as needed.
#2: Build in redundancy if you are using synchronous tools. Students may have trouble connecting from home, so if you are using Zoom or BB Collaborate Ultra or any other web-conferencing to hold classes, record the session and allow students to participate via chat, Teams, discussion boards, social media, etc.
#3 Remember that suddenly teaching online is not the same as fully online education. Those courses have months of prep and are intentionally designed for an online environment. We still have to deliver courses in as high a quality as we can, but don’t worry about making everything look pretty or be overwhelmed by most online advice you see online.
#4 Use the tools you already know, and then practice with 1 or two more that are needed to keep the course going. Its okay to record a podcast style lesson with the free and easy-to-use Audacity rather than learn Panopto. Hold virtual office hours before class if you are doing synchronous classes. This will give students a chance to check their equipment set up, troubleshoot problems, and familiarize both professors and student swith the platform.
#5 Communicate extensively with your students about changes, assignments, due dates, etc. Give them a space to talk about what is going on and to socialize. Physical social distancing doesn’t have to mean there’s no human contact, so give them that space.
These are tough times, but its when those of us who care about pedagogy can be useful resources to our students and colleagues. Help where you can, and take care of yourselves.