Professors and students across the country are preparing for another pandemic semester in the fall of 2020. This inevitably means more online teaching and learning than many of us are accustomed to.
None of us are eager to repeat the “emergency” situation in which we all found ourselves last spring. We all want to cultivate a better learning online learning environment for our students, but you may feel like you don’t know where to begin. It’s important to remember that no one is born a natural at online teaching – it takes time, research, and practice, just like any other skill. But because time is in short supply for many of us, here’s some of the info that I have found most helpful as I’ve worked to develop this skill. I hope it’s useful to my colleagues near and far!
start here
Looking for some solid starter advice? These resources provide a helpful overview of the most important aspects of successful online teaching.
Distance learning: a gently-curated collection of resources for teachers (from Cult of Pedagogy)
This set of resources is available both as a website and as a podcast, and addresses not just technology and tools but also the emotional impacts of online teaching and learning. Whether you are brand-new to online teaching or have been at it for years, there is something here for you!
more great resources…
Digital Studies 101 (simple online course taught by Jesse Stommel)
How to be a better online teacher (from the Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Nine ways online teaching should be different from F2F (from Cult of Pedagogy)
What we need to teach now (from Inside Higher Ed)
What worked this spring? (from Inside Higher Ed)
Yes, your Zoom teaching can be first-rate (from Inside Higher Ed)
community & connection in virtual spaces
Even when we are online, we are not just teaching classes. We are building learning communities. This may seem like a challenging thing to do when you can’t meet face to face, but it just takes a bit more careful thought.
How to build an online learning community: 6 Theses (from Jesse Stommel)
This presentation helps us think about the students who most need support from their learning communities and offers practical suggestions for how to best serve them.
more great resources…
How to be more inclusive in virtual spaces (from the Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Five ways to connect with online students (from the Chronicle of Higher Ed)
The importance of community (from Harper Spero)
How to build community when you feel isolated (TED talk by Chitra Aiyar)
How to build an online learning community (from Learnworlds)
Forging strong community in online classes (from Edutopia)
Building community in online classes (from Faculty Focus)
Creating a sense of belonging in asynchronous classes (from Scholarly Teacher)
hybrid & bimodal teaching
A “hybrid” class usually consists of a combination of in-person (or synchronous) learning and asynchronous online activities. A “bimodal” class (sometimes also called “HyFlex”) describes a class in which some students and/or faculty are in a classroom and others are remote during the same synchronous session.
Active Learning in Bimodal Classes (from the Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University)
Lots of great activities that make the most of your bimodal class! How to run discussions, do group work, make the most of backchannel chat, and more!
more great resources…
The “Zoomflex” model of teaching (from Mike Caulfield, WSU Vancouver)
Blended Content Studio (more great tips and tricks from Mike Caulfield, WSU Vancouver)
Active learning while physical distancing (from Jennifer Baumgartner, LSU)
A practical guide to HyFlex teaching (from the Center for Teaching Excellence at The University of South Carolina
assignments
These resources will help you adapt the assignments and projects you use in a “normal” semester to activities that work well with an online class.
Student workload estimator (from Wake Forest University)
Is it the same amount of work to write a discussion post as it is to participate in a weekly F2F class discussion? Is it easier or harder to make a podcast than to write a research paper? This calculator is eye-opening and will help you ensure that you aren’t actually turning your F2F class into an online “class and a half.”
more great resources…
Characteristics of effective online assignments (from Brown University)
Creative assignment ideas for teaching at a distance (from the Center for Experimental Humanities at Bard College)
Online activities index (from University of Illinois–Springfield)
Ideas for online assignments (from Online Teaching Tips)
Tips for “one pagers” (from Cult of Pedagogy)
Non-academic engagement ideas (from Presence)
teaching the humanities online
Not to exclude other disciplines (don’t worry, y’all have great resources out there too!), but I’m an English prof, after all. 😉
Transformative online humanities courses (from the Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Best practices for online humanities general education courses (from Laura Steele)
Bringing your course online (from the Modern Language Association)
resources for students
If you are looking for great tools to help your students, here are some of the best I have found!
Online success toolkit (built by moi for Hood College)
Tips for learning during disruption (from Caleb McDaniel & Jenifer Bratter, Rice University)
Netiquette (from Albion College)
Images on this page from Unsplash: by Soundtrap, John Schnobrich, Christina @wocintechchat.com, Oguzhan Akdogan, Andrew Neel, & Stanley Dai.
