Baby Steps to Online Instruction
I really like a live audience. I like to get instant reactions, see nonverbal cues, and be able to modify content as I go. But, I realize that as more and more students are taking online classes, I'll need to find a way to better convey information literacy skill in a virtual space.
So here are my baby steps:
Reading and learning. I've read a few articles and a book about teaching online, and attended some conference sessions on online instruction and digital teaching tools.
Tools: I've dabbled in making tutorials, using Jing, Camtasia, and Guide on the Side. And I've tried out other interactive tools, like Padlet, Kahoot, and Google forms. I also completely fell in love with Office Mix, except now it's going away. I would say Jing, Google forms, and Office Mix have been my go-to tools. I think they are easy to use, easy to re-access, and easy to integrate.
Multimedia: I've branched out from just text, even in my face-to-face classes. I've experimented with podcasts, YouTube Videos, and tutorials, videos and quizzes through Credo (which my library pays for).
My biggest hurdle is engagement. I really struggle in a virtual group setting to engage with everyone, although I have observed some useful techniques that I plan to try in the future:
1. Groups: Break everyone into groups, and have them only respond and comment with their group members
2. Chain: Have students only respond to the person who posted last, and then pose a question for the person after them.
3. Polling: For short responses, this can be as useful as "show of hands" in a synchronous setting.
4. Assign roles: Similar to what I do in a face-to-face class, giving students responsibilities like taking notes, presenting an article, monitoring conversations, etc. could also work in an online environment
These strategies mostly help students engage with the content and each other, and perhaps not with me specifically -- or at least, it off-loads my responsibility of lots of engagement. Most of my direct engagement with online students has been through my virtual research consultations. I've been using youcanbook.me to integrate my availability with my work calendar, and then giving them the option of meeting me face-to-face or virtually, using Zoom. These research consultations are a great way for me to chat with a student, and get that in-person feedback from a synchronous meeting. The downside is a healthy work balance, and making sure to block off time to accomplish work projects, and of course, scalability. Two courses required their students to set up research consultations with me this semester, resulting in nearly 40 appointments. We'll see how next semester goes...
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| Photo: Pixabay |
So here are my baby steps:
Reading and learning. I've read a few articles and a book about teaching online, and attended some conference sessions on online instruction and digital teaching tools.
Tools: I've dabbled in making tutorials, using Jing, Camtasia, and Guide on the Side. And I've tried out other interactive tools, like Padlet, Kahoot, and Google forms. I also completely fell in love with Office Mix, except now it's going away. I would say Jing, Google forms, and Office Mix have been my go-to tools. I think they are easy to use, easy to re-access, and easy to integrate.
Multimedia: I've branched out from just text, even in my face-to-face classes. I've experimented with podcasts, YouTube Videos, and tutorials, videos and quizzes through Credo (which my library pays for).
My biggest hurdle is engagement. I really struggle in a virtual group setting to engage with everyone, although I have observed some useful techniques that I plan to try in the future:
1. Groups: Break everyone into groups, and have them only respond and comment with their group members
2. Chain: Have students only respond to the person who posted last, and then pose a question for the person after them.
3. Polling: For short responses, this can be as useful as "show of hands" in a synchronous setting.
4. Assign roles: Similar to what I do in a face-to-face class, giving students responsibilities like taking notes, presenting an article, monitoring conversations, etc. could also work in an online environment
These strategies mostly help students engage with the content and each other, and perhaps not with me specifically -- or at least, it off-loads my responsibility of lots of engagement. Most of my direct engagement with online students has been through my virtual research consultations. I've been using youcanbook.me to integrate my availability with my work calendar, and then giving them the option of meeting me face-to-face or virtually, using Zoom. These research consultations are a great way for me to chat with a student, and get that in-person feedback from a synchronous meeting. The downside is a healthy work balance, and making sure to block off time to accomplish work projects, and of course, scalability. Two courses required their students to set up research consultations with me this semester, resulting in nearly 40 appointments. We'll see how next semester goes...
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