A Resource Guide for Transitioning Your Class Online
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A Resource Guide for Transitioning Your Class Online SPECIAL REPORT MAGNA PUBLICATIONS CONTENTS Education Initiatives: A Mashup of Emergency A Checklist for Moving Your Resources and Other Great Course Online 03 Tips 13 How Teaching Online Can Eight Steps for a Smoother Improve Your Face-to-Face Transition to Online Teaching 05 15 Classes Five Ways to Foster Seven Ways to Facilitate Creativity in Your Online Effective Online Discussions 07 Classroom 19 Online Discussions: Would Simple Animation for Your Changing the Environment Courses 09 23 Help? What Do Students Really Want from Online Instruc- 11 tors? Education Initiatives: A Mashup of Emergency Resources and Other Great Tips Faculty Focus n response to COVID-19, we’ve seen in- links to educational resources from all over the structors and universities from around the world. Iworld come together to compile numer- ous resources and lists. Although we’ve only 4. Mandy Berry: A Facebook Post on skimmed the surface, we believe the following Remote Teaching links provide insight on different perspectives A public Facebook post from Amanda Berry, that institutions and staff are currently go- an assistant professor of literature at American ing through. From transitioning to an online University. course to fostering a productive conversation with your students, these resources shed light 5. Resources for Disruptions on education initiatives we hope you find use- A list of resources compiled by Ollie Dreon ful during this time of uncertainty. on his blog pertaining to transitioning to online teaching and coping with education initiatives 1. Remote Teaching Strategies— during this time of disruption. Crowdsourced Public Resources This crowdsourced (and growing) Facebook Tips for the Transition resource focuses on teaching remotely, Transitioning your face-to-face class to online compiled by Christian L. Frock. takes time, but time isn’t always on our side in case of emergencies. In response to many 2. Teaching Effectively During Times of faculty transitioning their own classes during Disruption, for SIS and PWR this time, we’ve compiled a few tips based on From Stanford University, a guide to teaching POD listserv discussions and with help from effectively during times of disruption, by Jenae Jessie Male’s students in her Disability Memoir Cohn and Beth Seltzer. course at NYU Gallatin. • Keep your students informed on what’s 3. Remote Teaching Resources going on, what they can do, and what they Remote teaching resources, an in-depth should be doing. You can put an announce- spreadsheet managed by Daniel Stanford with A Resource Guide for Transitioning Your Class Online |www.facultyfocus.com 3 ment on your syllabus, post it, or email the • You can make a Facebook group for your students. class, where they can chat with one another • Consider using Canvas. Even if your class through the messenger app. This could be a is not published, your students may be using resource for basic questions and act as a quick Canvas already for other classes. engagement tool if access to a computer is • You can use Zoom to have synchronous, limited. interactive sessions. Zoom requires you to set • GroupMe is also an effective way to up a “meeting” outside of Canvas and provide a message students. It’s flexible and less link to your class. intrusive than some other platforms. • Keep a schedule for when discussion • Maintain a calendar for students with every prompts are posted/due. Most LMS have a deadline. discussion board, where you could potentially • Provide specific times for when you will be post one prompt per class to generate conver- available for student meetings or will defini- sation. tively be checking email. Consider using Google • Or you can assign one discussion board chat to meet with students. post per student. So essentially, it’s like having • Check if college libraries will be open and a discussion leader. That student is then what resources students will have access to responsible for facilitating discussion with their while classes are moved online. See if there is classmates (with instructor input, of course). a LibGuide for your subject. Even if libraries • Use Google Docs during each module or aren’t open, a quick list of resources for class, where students can add notes and pose research could be useful. questions. • If you’re creating videos, you can use Ultimately, we know that this is not an easy Panopto to record your lectures. All classrooms time. We know that you are stressed and on campus should have a mic, or you can overwhelmed. But we also know the collabora- record from your office/laptop. Select to tion in terms of resources and community has “webcast” Panopto sessions, where you been absolutely outstanding. You are not alone can interact with students remotely via text in this. responses. • Caption your videos. One tool for captioning videos is through YouTube. It’s free and easy but does require some time. A Resource Guide for Transitioning Your Class Online |www.facultyfocus.com 4 Eight Steps for a Smoother Transition to Online Teaching J.A. Miller, PhD s universities rush to get all their cours- 2. Use technology as a means to an end. es online quickly, there’s a high prob- Don’t confuse technology with teaching. The Aability of error but also a lot you can goal is to use technology to facilitate engaging do to succeed. Problems may occur due to and effective teaching and learning. Know overtaxed technological infrastructure, your that technology’s tools of engagement (like students’ disorientation and fear, and your discussion boards, wikis, journals, blogs, etc.) own learning curve. On the positive side, you are just that—tools, not the engagement itself. learn for a living, so you are good at it! Being What is the secret sauce? You are! Along with open to the current crisis-driven educational the community of learners that includes your opportunity is a call to action. The reputation students, your fellow faculty members, and and integrity of your institution—and you!— every teacher on the internet! An LMS or Zoom depends upon your offering engaging online can’t stand in for a trusted advisor, mentor, or classes. (No pressure.) Below are a few tips to experienced subject-matter expert like you. get you started. If you are new to online teaching, take it slow initially, but don’t leave out engagement. 1. Be a learner. You’re used to being an expert. But now you 3. Don’t be “the man (or woman) behind may be facing a situation where you aren’t the curtain.” an expert. For most of your students, taking High “instructor presence”—the feeling all their classes fully online will be a new that an instructor is still present in an online experience. If it’s new to you as well, don’t be educational experience—is more critical now afraid to let your students know that you are than it has ever been. Log into your course learning with them. Keep a beginner’s mindset. every day. Yes, every day. You don’t have to You don’t have to have all the answers. Just promise a 24-hour turnaround for responses. know how to point your students in the right In fact, that will quickly exhaust you. A 48-hour direction. There are many free resources turnaround response time is typical. But do online to help out. And as you would tell your respond to your students’ posts if you have students, there are no stupid questions. Ask a discussion board. Set expectations of away. Do a Google search, check in with IT, when you will and won’t be available. Don’t phone a friend, or ask your students. They make Sunday night off-limits if you have an will be happy to help if you make it clear that assignment due on Monday. That’s not fair. having a great online course is a group project. Make use of group communications, like A Resource Guide for Transitioning Your Class Online |www.facultyfocus.com 5 the announcement function in your LMS, to discussion board. Add peer-to-peer support, touch base with your students every few days. try virtual group work, and provide frequent Instructor presence is established when your opportunities for feedback. You don’t have to students feel that you are there for them. It be technologically inclined to let your students doesn’t have to be 24/7, but your students will know that you care about what they have to miss you! So, stay in touch. say. 4. Know the gotcha’s. 6. Upskill, upskill, upskill. Partner with IT to determine the top fix to Just as you shouldn’t overemphasize the role six technical issues that students are likely to of technology in this educational moment, you encounter when accessing a course online. don’t want to underplay it either. Everyone This may be a forgotten password, a pop-up (faculty, administrators, and students) will need blocker, or a browser issue. Educate yourself to upskill themselves in educational technology around what the issues could be because quickly. There are many free resources out students will turn to you for technical support. there to get you started. Check out LinkedIn To avoid spending more time troubleshoot- (which merged with Lynda.com) to find short ing technical problems than teaching your videos on how to work in an LMS. If your content, develop FAQs or links to websites university’s IT department is overloaded, take or videos that provide solutions to the most matters into your own hands by using OERs common problems. You don’t have to become (Open Educational Resources).