18.3 Crisis Driven Online

Crisis Driven Online SoT-18-3-CrisisDrivenOnline

This is probably old news, but it does not hurt to recap and review.
With recurring waves and sudden changes to hybrid, remote learning, it is best to be prepared and ready for the sudden shifts.
If you are new instructor, you might not have gone through the shifts before; except as a student.

Just do it…

The COVID pandemic drove many institutions and courses to move online, quickly and without the time and effort normally provided for online MOOC courses.

In some cases, universities and colleges still oscillate between online and on-campus as outbreaks occur and then fade away. It is best to have some plans and material at hand for the shifts.

Do not attempt best practice or even consider it the first time you are going online in a rush. Do not think about doing it. There is not enough time and resources to do a full, appropriate re-development. However, do not just take your classroom course, record yourself talking to them as if you were in a classroom. Do not just post your old notes. Invest some time to do the minimum redesign and redeployment. Please!

That being said, it is probably wise to invest some time during the term and after to 'fix' things up a bit; it is likely that portions of the rushed material will be used again in hybrid situations.

General principles...

The student learning online will be less effective and less efficient; reduce the content and workload by 25-30%. Be more selective, go for teaching less, teaching it better.
Try to give ‘added value’ as you go through the material, the students will be expecting something better than Khan Academy, or ‘the textbook’ in this regard. In other words, try to offer students something that they won’t easily get elsewhere.
The quality of the online material should reflect the institution’s and program’s image and claims for quality. This is what the students will be expecting. This expectation should match the situation. A claim or expectation of being the best or one of the best in normal times should also map onto the best or one of the best in a crisis.
Each course/instructor is different, but the online time is likely to be different from classroom time. You will be ‘saving’ time: e.g., no writing on the board without speaking, answering questions, asking questions, waiting for answers, repeating things, etc. Your ‘video’ time should reflect the actual ‘value added’ time you use in the classroom, not the time spent because of the classroom format. The compression factor will be different for all.
Remember that they can rewind, pause, replay and that this is NOT a deck to be seen from 60 feet away in a classroom. This actually makes it ‘easier’. You are not their e-reader.
Use powerpoint with narration. You do not need more for ‘good enuf’.

Be sure to have your course syllabus, schedule, due dates, detailed assessment schemes, and weights available on the first day of class. This is important when doing online. We actually recommend opening the course online at least one week before the course starts to allow the students time to plan and be organized for the first week.
Plan a weekly release schedule if possible, and also have due dates on a weekly schedule; each course will be different. The students will need some kind of structure, rhythm to help with their time management. Do not change the schedule and move things around.

Weekly checklist...

Consider breaking down your full weekly lecture into multiple (short) videos. Each video should be 6-10 minutes, occasionally go to 15 minutes; no longer.
If you are not editing the recording, have you done two takes, choosing the best? Can you use a ‘Errata and Omissions’ file to fix things with the students instead of doing a re-take?
Has someone at arm’s length reviewed each video? Are you making sure people can understand what you are saying?
Have you avoided using a postage stamp ‘talking head’? This has no value (sorry). So, unless you can scale and place the head like you can do with an editing tool like Camtasia, do not bother. And, only use the talking head when you are trying to make a special point, making it personal. Do not just leave your head there for the whole time. It actually detracts and lowers the quality.
Have you avoided reading every word on the slide or lecture notes?
Have you avoided trying to put everything on the slides, using highlights/concept maps, etc. when applicable?
Is it casual, easy to listen to?
Have you supplied the pptx in none narrated form and in pdf, with the narrated form uploaded in mp4?
In the intro for the week are there clear learning outcomes, goals for the week?
Is there a summary slide deck; the learning outcomes, activities for the week, any special reminders?

Assessments...

Weekly, short assignments. They should be about ½ hour to 1 hour max.
Try for a mix of straight mechanics and Bloom’s higher levels (course, term specific – e.g., 40-60, 50-50 mixes of knowledge and skill).
Try to have some kind of contextual, individual aspects that will make it harder for academic misconduct. We suggest approximately six as the minimum.
Try for personal or group activities to pick up the time you will be ‘saving’ classroom vs online. You could ask for reflections and personal lessons learned.

Q&A and office hours...