Considerations for starting the fall semester fully online
Due to Covid-19, we have the opportunity to start our semester fully online. Below are resources that can help you during your planning for the start of a successful. The most important part about having a great start is to relax and have fun. If you’re having fun, your students will have fun, be engaged, and learn.
Please visit each of the following steps for additional information.
Selecting the delivery model that best suits your teaching
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Opportunities: |
Considerations |
Synchronous |
It’s more like a traditional class in that you see all your students and can have real-time conversations. Can use Zoom breakout rooms to do group work and group discussions as you would in a traditional classroom. |
Students without access to reliable (or no) home internet may not be able to participate fully or at all. Students must attend class at a specific time. Since we start later, they may decide to keep summer jobs which could conflict. |
Asynchronous |
Students can participate in class on their own schedule (any place, any time). Students with unreliable internet access at home are less affected when watching videos or reading online than when participating in a live video session. |
Students often feel like they are “teaching themselves” or are alone in their learning, so faculty need to plan ways to prevent this through communication and collaboration. |
Adding engagement to your online teaching
Synchronous: |
Asynchronous: |
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Creating Lectures
Synchronous: |
Asynchronous: |
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Communicate Early and Often
Students want to be in contact with their faculty members so it’s incredibly important that you stay in contact with them, especially in an asynchronous class.
- Create weekly OAKS Announcements that are encouraging
- Email students that aren’t participating fully or aren’t accessing your OAKS class to encourage them to participate
- Office regular office hours via Zoom so students can talk to you about problems or concerns
Build Community from the Start
- Do an online community building activity such as an online escape room to really get the students involved in one another.
- If doing introductions, make it about them as a person. Learn about pets, where they’re from, what they want from their future. Let them get to know you as a person, not just as a professor.
- Consider using FlipGrid for your introductions so students can meet you and one another.
Set Expectations
Be very clear in your syllabus about your expectations of your students during the first three weeks and beyond. Remind them it’s a changing environment and they need to be flexible.
- How often should they log in per week?
- How much time should they spend per week?
- How many absences can they have?
- If they are absent can they watch recorded sessions? If so, where will they be?
- Where can they get Tech Help?
- What does success look like in your class and how can they achieve it?
- Include your communication parameters and preference, ex. I prefer email communication and I will respond within 24 hour (but not on the weekend).
- Create a syllabus quiz that they can take multiple times to ensure they have read and understand the syllabus.
Please don’t forget that you need a Plan B in case you or some of your students are quarantined. Also don’t forget that the last week of the semester, and the final exam, will be fully online, so plan accordingly.