I started teaching computer engineering courses since the Spring semester of 2017. All my courses were offered in-person until COVID 19 pandemic arrived. As a result of the pandemic, all of us had to teach our classes online. I offered all of my classes following a fully synchronous mode at that time. During that time, I invested in recording my lectures and posting them to my students. This practice proved to have positive impact on students' learning since they have the opportunity to access and review the lecture at their own convenience. Right after we started recovering from the pandemic, I wanted to keep these positive components in my classes, and hence, I decided to offer some of my classes in hybrid mode (50% asynchronous and 50% in-person). However, my hybrid classes lacked important components that may have better humanized them, which could have led to stronger online community and engagement for the students in the asynchronous portion of the class.
Now being exposed to the Humanizing STEM Academy workshop, I recognize that while my hybrid classes incorporate valuable elements like recorded lectures, the asynchronous portion lacks important components that could better humanize the online learning experience.
My goal is to enhance the humanizing aspects to foster a stronger online community and improve engagement among students in the asynchronous parts of my hybrid courses.