Online Learning: Some Notes for Going Online Midsemester

Many colleges and universities are telling their students not to return to campus after spring break, and many more might soon do the same. Faculty members who teach in physical classrooms probably did not design their courses to go online on short notice at midsemester. Whether or not you have experience teaching online, here are a few basic questions and answers to help you get started.

Will students be comfortable moving to online learning? Students already do everything else online, so they will be comfortable moving to online learning. Some students will have unreasonably high expectations for faculty, including faculty who are new to teaching online and, in that sense, are "teaching without a net." Many of my students prefer reading on their laptops, tablets, or even phones. A simple note to students that you're doing your best on short notice and that their support and ideas are welcome might salve most of the questions.

Do I need to change my entire course? Before you shift to online teaching and before you make any changes to your syllabus, go back and review the original learning outcomes. When you designed the course, what did you want students to learn? It is easy to become frustrated by technology or distracted by its shiny baubles. Even if you need to modify the learning outcomes or modify your syllabus, focusing on what you hoped students would learn is a useful starting point before trying to do the rest.

What questions are students most likely to ask? Students' first or second question is going to be, "How does this affect my grade?" If your course is already set up to have take-home deliverables, these can be submitted easily by email or—even better—through your learning management system (LMS) (Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas, etc.). If you have in-class quizzes and exams, these can be done at home and submitted online as well. If students do not have textbooks at home with them, you can search "open educational resources" to find electronic alternatives for them. If one or more grading components must be changed (in-class presentations, pop quizzes, etc.), be as transparent and beneficent with the students as possible.

Do I have to record 75-minute lectures and post them? No—and you very likely do not want to. (If you must, you are better off recording a series of short videos rather than one long one.) You should include a brief introduction (a few paragraphs or a three-to-five-minute video, for example).

This week, we are discussing X. These are some of the questions about this topic, and these are the skills you want to acquire. This is how it builds on what we've been doing and how it forms a foundation for what we're doing next.

You probably do this in the classroom already. This type of introductory material can be very useful for students. You can create video content within your LMS or even with your cell phone.

Many schools offer advice about transforming a face-to-face class to an online class and temporarily moving classes online.

Can I replicate class discussion? Do I want to? It depends. If you want to hold synchronous class sessions online, where all of your students are online with you during the regular class time, that's possible. But asynchronous classes generally are preferable. Asynchronous instruction is when teachers post the readings, videos, and other materials online before the class period, and students respond to essay prompts, problems, quizzes, etc., by a given due date/time.

Asynchronous classes have trade-offs, but they can be technologically easier. Online classroom interactions are different from in-person classroom discussions. The time lag for asynchronous questions and answers takes away some of the spontaneity. On the other hand, not all students are ready to jump into rapid classroom conversations. Those who prefer to think before they raise their hands may have more frequent and thoughtful conversations in an online format.

Will all of my students be able to access the course content? Not all students have reliable technology and internet to support online, at-home learning. Students with disabilities also may have issues accessing some materials or technologies. Consult with the disability and access office at your school for help captioning videos and creating accessible content.

What do students want? In a nutshell, students want flexibility, feedback, and connection. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing stress among students—and everyone else on college and university campuses. Place the work you do to transition your course content within the context of these hectic, uncertain conditions. Grade and comment on work quickly and in ways that demonstrate empathy. Make yourself and your class available through online classroom discussions, and answer email promptly. Use Skype to video chat or open a Google Hangout or Zoom where students can "drop-in" to see you and their classmates. Show nervous and isolated students that they are fully part of a supportive educational environment.

Jim Quirk is professorial lecturer at American University.