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How to Create a Low-Tech Distance Learning Course
How to Create a Low-Tech Distance Learning Course
If you are having serious difficulties using technology (Blackboard, Zoom, Google Drive, etc.) and you must continue your in-person course remotely or from a distance, consider running the course using the most basic technology like email and the telephone.
If you are having serious difficulties using technology (Blackboard, Zoom, Google Drive, etc.) and you must continue your in-person course remotely or from a distance, consider running the course using the most basic technology like email and the telephone.
What is a ‘low-tech distance learning’ course?
What is a ‘low-tech distance learning’ course?
A low-tech distance learning course is simply a series of emails sent out over a period of time that teach on a specific topic. Each email usually contains a greeting, instructions, and one week’s lesson. The emails you send add up to the full course. It’s basically a stripped-down online course without the technology (shared drives, software, video conferencing, Blackboard, etc.) of an online course. It’s still a channel to teach on your topic and engage your students, and it’s technologically easier to create and deliver instruction to your students in times of emergencies.
Because the technology use is limited to email and the telephone, instructors can do all the work to create their first email lesson in a day or two. This means they can have a new syllabus and one week’s worth of assignments ready for your students quickly.
If instructors focus on creating great lesson plans and writing simple, plain-text emails that create a personal feel to their course assignments and instructions, they can continue to help their students learn during this time. By focusing on the learning outcomes, exams, lesson content, scaffolded assignments, and promoting student learning via engaging assignments and good feedback instructors can create rich experiences without the use of more complex technology.
Who should teach a low-tech distance learning course?
Who should teach a low-tech distance learning course?
If you have tried to master technology and feel it is not a viable option for you and your students, then a low-tech distance learning course might be right for you. You and your department must make this determination. Please do not see this guide as a recommendation for running your course via email, see it as an option to continuing your course during times of emergency. We recommend you attempt to master the most basic features and functions of tools like Zoom or Blackboard before opting for a low-tech distance course.
Low-tech distance learning courses should focus on your teaching experience, knowledge, and personality.
Low-tech distance learning courses should focus on your teaching experience, knowledge, and personality.
If you create emails that have a well-crafted personal feel, you can really give your students a solid introductory email, solid lessons, and engaging activities you can really help your students continue to learn during this distance learning period. Your course can focus on highlighting your teaching style, your personality, and your authority on the subject as opposed to your mastery of technology. Your course should engage and retain your students. Your course should instill trust in you as a teacher and a person and keep your students coming back to you as their source of information, guidance, and feedback.
Low-tech distance learning courses can be delivered one week at a time.
Low-tech distance learning courses can be delivered one week at a time.
In critical moments such as the one we are currently facing, it might be wise to 'think' long-term (semester) but 'act' short term, or 1-2 weeks at a time. Your students will react differently to the emergency situation and you will have to constantly assess how well they are responding to your emails, to the assignments, and your feedback. You might have to schedule telephone appointments with them to mentor them through the semester.
Rather than putting all your lessons out at the same time, low-tech distance learning courses allow you to drip each lesson out over a period of time. This can give your students more time to digest each lesson at their own pace, get used to learning via email and submitting assignments ‘from a distance.’
You can finish the course experience gradually.
You can finish the course experience gradually.
If the idea of reformulating the course you’ve been teaching for years in a few days is overwhelming, then writing only a small amount of really valuable lessons might be the right approach for you. Since your low-tech distance learning course is released gradually, one week at a time, that means you don’t have to have all your emails written and ready to go before you reach out to your students. You can reevaluate and edit your syllabus for low-tech distance learning and send it to your students before the entire course and lessons are completed. You should have at least the first week ready to go before you send the first email out. Make sure to note how the syllabus will change during the course disruption period and try to be flexible with your students. They will most certainly struggle at first.
Don't forget about the telephone.
Don't forget about the telephone.
Low-tech courses can make use of technology that has been around for over a century--the telephone! Call your students who are struggling, schedule conference calls instead of office hours, ask students to share their number with their assigned groups and collaborate verbally, if not visually. Encourage student to be creative and inventive when collaborating. Just because you can't use certain technology doesn't mean they can't. Many of them are well-versed in collaborating with social media like Facebook or Instagram.
How to write content for your low-tech distance learning course
How to write content for your low-tech distance learning course
In general, low-tech distance learning course emails should be shorter than your regular in-person course. No one expects to receive emails that take more than a few minutes to read. Each instructional email should be easily digestible, assignments should take only a few minutes to read through, and end with a solid, actionable step your students can take (an assignment, a project to complete, a chapter to read, a video to watch, etc).
There is no rule that specifies how many emails to send to students. You can certainly think about sending three emails a week to start: initial email with lesson, a follow-up and feedback on how the week is progressing, and maybe even a clarifying email at the end. It's your course, you can decide!
Use pre-existing lessons
If you already have lessons or are using a publisher’s website, creating your low-tech distance learning course just got a little easier. Yes, you are encouraged to re-use in-person lessons to continue your course via email. Just find specific lessons that have done well and pull them together to create your course assignments.
If you don’t have a great lesson that can translate to email format, we’ve created a template for you to model your low-tech distance learning course on. It is very specific to a discipline, however, it should give you a good idea of what type of emails and content you should include in your distance learning course.
3-Steps to Creating a Low-Tech Distance Learning Course
3-Steps to Creating a Low-Tech Distance Learning Course
Follow these 3-steps to create a good distance learning experience using basic technology, like email and the telephone.
Revise Syllabus
Create Lesson Plan
Send Email
Step 1- Revise your Syllabus and Course Guide
Take your current syllabus and examine how to adapt current lessons to an email format.
Which chapters will they read?
What will they watch?
Which assignments will they complete?
How will you assess their learning?
How do my lessons meet the course objectives?
How will I assess learning?
How will you provide feedback?
How will my lessons and assignments provide the knowledge and skills students need to meet objectives?
How will you organize your lessons?
What content and instructions will you add?
You can then create a Course Guide based on this reassessment. Remember, you must be flexible with your requirements and think in terms of a work in progress. Your students might be overwhelmed by this approach to completing their assignments. Feel free to reassess and pivot your approach and demands as the weeks and semester progress.
Step 2: Create Lessons
Next, create your lesson plan for the week. Make sure your assignments are clearly defined with simple and concise instructions. Remind students of the following:
What are the deadlines?
How will they send the assignments to you for feedback?
Will they respond via email? If so, can you accept MS Word documents or PDFs?
How will you provide feedback? Will you email or telephone?
Be realistic about your technology skills. If you cannot download and open a document you can ask E-Learning for simple tutorial videos to learn how. If you truly cannot manage opening or commenting in MS Word, you can ask students to copy and paste their work in the body of the email.
An easy way to provide feedback to students via email is to reply to their assignment, edit, and comment in the email itself. Also, remind students when they can expect to receive feedback from you and how. Remember, you can also speak to them using the good ol' telephone.
Step 3: Draft your email...and send!
We've already talked about how to create an engaging and personal email that clearly outlines expectations to your students and sets the pace of learning. Again, your low-tech distance learning course can focus on highlighting your teaching style, your personality, and your authority on the subject. Don't forget to include the lesson plan with your email!
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TECHNICAL SUPPORT
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