Humanizing Online STEM Showcase
Pa Houa Xiong
Chemistry Instructor, CSU, Fresno
Adjunct Lecturer of Chemistry, Fresno City College
Reflections
Where I was.
Before I took this Humanizing training course, it has always been a challenging task for me to exercise equity in an online class because there are so many new technology tools used for teaching online. I am also not a big fan of recording videos of myself because I do not have any videography skills and always end up recording my nostrils. The tips and information given about how to position the camera to get better recording with ideas on using lights to help improve the contrast of the video.
Where I am.
After completing the Humanizing Online Academy, I am very happy with the progress and work I have completed in my hybrid chemistry course. I know I still have a lot of work to do, but this course has opened my eyes on how I can better teach effectively online with different video recordings. This Fall 2023 semester I incorporated the liquid syllabus, I noticed that I have a good turnout of students being more engaging. I also have more students attending my office in the Fall 2023 as well as communicating more effectively with me by canvas inbox. I plan to continue using the assignments such as bumper videos and the Flipgrid as course assignments for my online chemistry class. It was nice to be a part of an academy where our facilitator was very supportive of us doing well in the course. I like that I am a part of a community that focuses on helping each other to best practice and improve equity with online classes.
Where I am going.
The Humanizing Online Academy has taught me and given me a lot of information on how to use Flipgrid and Adobe Express to make lecture assignments and video contents. I also never used a liquid syllabus in any of the courses I teach, but I have implemented it at my community college this Fall 2023 and I see progress in equity in an online STEM class. There are more students attending my office hours to get help with their coursework. I still have lots of things to continue to learn and I look forward to trying to implement a wisdom wall Flipgrid activity for my online class.
Liquid Syllabus
This is a nice condensed liquid syllabus for students to review before week 1 of instruction. I provide a welcome video introducing myself to my students. The word choices and tone of information presented for students set them for a positive learning experience and assure them that I am here to support them in any way that I can to help them be successful in my course. When students read the Pact, the information gives them a language that shows personal warmth as well as a demand of work toward high standards.
Course Card
I selected a cartoon illustration of different chemistry items to introduce students to enjoy the experience of not just learning from chemistry, but to have fun. I also hope this picture sparks curiosity in students with this course.
Homepage
This is my video of my humanizing canvas homepages. I included an image of students working in the lab to help make it student friendly. I have a short welcome message explaining the class meeting information and due dates for the assignments. There is also a welcome video to introduce myself to my students.
Getting to Know You Survey
There are ten questions in my survey and it is a combination of essay questions, multiple choice, and multiple answers. Some questions focus on the student's name and how to pronounce their name. Other questions in this survey focus on students' connectivity to the online and internet services. I use this information to contact students to let them know about resources that are available for students to check out and use at our college.
Ice Breaker Flip Video
My ice breaker Flipgrid video assignment required the students to record a video of them answering some questions on two to three values that matter to them and share an item of something that represents values that matter to them. The purpose of this ice breaker is to foster a sense of belonging by connecting students with each other.
Bumper Video
My bumper video is a short lecture video that provides student information on how to write a number in scientific notation. I give student examples of how to express big and small numbers in scientific notation. The purpose of this video is to focus on learning how to write scientific notation numbers. Students will be able to follow the animation and see how to convert decimal notation numbers to scientific notation numbers.
Microlecture
In this short lecture video, I focus on helping students to understand how to determine the number of significant figures for making measurements and reporting measurements with appropriate units in chemistry. There are also practice problems in the video as a conceptual checkpoint to see if students understand the learning objectives.
This site is by Pa Houa Xiong and is shared with a Creative Commons-Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 license. Creation of this content was made possible with funding from the California Education Learning Lab.