Humanized Online Teaching Showcase

Where I was:  

When I started this class, I felt pretty confident in my teaching being humanized.  I have done most of the online training offered during COVID, so I knew I had some of the major factors covered.  But, I also knew that I struggled with connecting with students in the same ways online as I do in person.  I often felt like my students struggled to get work done correctly and on time and concluded that it was the online students who were struggling, not myself.  I was understanding of their difficult schedules and flexible with deadlines, but I did not really adjust my teaching, my online presence, or my learning materials.  I think I thought I was doing everything I could do for them by being flexible and understanding.

I also felt really confident in my own technological skills and abilities and I have since realized what a struggle some of this online work can be.  I would often just give up on using a technology like Flip because students were struggling with it in a class and I felt like it was something their technological skills just wouldn't allow them to complete.

Where I am:

 I have realized just how much more I can and should be doing for my online students.  I have not spent a lot of time thinking about what needs to be different in the online sections from my in-person sections other than some of the assignments becoming online discussions instead of in-person discussions or rubrics changing to recognize the online environment needs for public speaking or focusing more on online speaking than in-person speaking.  My materials stayed virtually the same and I now realize it is causing my students a lot of extra cognitive load and that is part of why they may be struggling at times.  As a side note, I also realized that changing some of my in-person materials would be helpful as well.  I am realizing that I could do a lot more for my students, which in turn would probably make things easier for me as an instructor.  I could take more time just getting to know my students rather than constantly being focused on answering emails, explaining assignments, and reminding students to finish their assignments.

 I feel more committed than ever to providing MORE direction on assignments with videos and examples as this class did for me.  Being on the student side of things, I can see that once you have the help you need, whether through video instructions written instructions, or feedback from the instructor, the tech becomes doable.  Now, I feel like I have strategies for giving them the tools to make the technology work instead of just abandoning it immediately.

Where I am going:

I know there are a lot of things I can improve upon in my online (and in-person) classes but it would feel overwhelming to try to do it all at one time.  So, I am committed to making changes to my classes by priority.  Microlectures and changing instructions on assignments to be more accessible and complete will be first priority.  I will also be more present through video in my online classes moving forward instead of thinking I have to have formal reasons for making a video and posting it.  Finally, I will make sure those videos are all captioned properly and accessible.  I think my teaching, both online and in person is going to benefit greatly from the skills and awareness this class has provided to me.