This site provides examples of instructional resources created in the Humanizing Online STEM Academy, a professional development program funded by the California Education Learning Lab and administered by the Foothill DeAnza Community College District.
Even before COVID, I realized that I needed to start teaching online to meet the needs of my students, but I kept dragging my feet. I must admit that one of the reasons I was originally hesitant to start teaching online was because I didn't know how I could bring "me" into my courses. So over the last few years I completed several professional development courses to improve my online teaching and although I learned valuable tools, I still felt that there was something missing. Then this semester I heard about this Humanizing Online STEM course and thought this may be the answer I was looking for.
As the Humanizing Online Stem course comes to an end, I sit here thinking of all that I have learned. I learned how to create a liquid syllabus that I will use in all of my classes moving forward. I also learned how to create short videos using Adobe Express. I even learned what a Wisdom Wall is...and I like it. The most surprising and impactful tool I learned was not something that was taught, but something I received as a student in this course. The kind, personalized, in-depth feedback that I received on my assignments reminded me what I wanted, and even craved, as a student. Although I provide feedback to my students, I realized that it was missing the human component. Overall, I feel that the tools I learned in this course will definitely help to bring out "me" and add an important personal level to my online courses. In fact, I can already see the difference in my current courses.
I believe that I will be a better professor because of the Humanizing Online STEM course. I may not use all of the tools I learned on a regular basis, but at least I know they will be there when I need them. I can say that I am better able to create a more inviting, warm, and human side to my courses and as a result, I believe that my students will get more out of my courses than just learning the course material. For example, I can't wait to post imperfect, humanized videos so students can get to know "me." I also believe that implementing what I have learned will help to remove barriers that can impede student success.
My liquid syllabus is an abbreviated version of my complete syllabus that will be emailed to students before the semester starts. I tried to create a welcoming document that would not only provide a way for students to get to know me and highlight the support that they will receive in the class, but one that would ease any reservations the students my have with the class.
The course card is used to set the tone of the class so I chose a photo that included a variety of people having fun studying nature outside. It was important that the photo was outside since I believe learning happens even outside the classroom. I went back and forth about a photo in a lab and ultimately decided on this photo as it was more casual and as result it gave me a feeling "hey, I can do that."
The homepage is the first thing a student sees when logging into the Canvas course so it sets the tone for the class. For the first week of school, I created a welcome page that is inviting and informative. I have a fun picture of myself with a panda and a blurb describing how excited I am for them to be in the class. I also included a video that describes me as an instructor and what to expect from the class. I also have quick link buttons that students can use to get them to where they need to go. The homepage is changed throughout the semester to correlate to the module students are learning about.
A "Get to Know You" survey helps personalize the class and it helps me to get to know my online students on a similar level as my in-person students. The survey asks a series of questions that help show that I am interested in them as a person and I am interested in helping them to be successful in this class. One question I ask is how to pronounce their name. Nothing is worse than mispronouncing someone's name. I also ask to identify how I could help them be successful in this course. There is great flexibility in how the course is presented so by collecting the information from the survey, I can then modify the course to meet the needs of the current students.
A wisdom wall encourages student-student interactions, which are an important part of online courses to build trust and inclusion. I created a wisdom wall that is an optional activity at the end of my course where students are asked to share advice on how to be successful in the course. This information will then be shared with students at the start of my online course. This assignment can be helpful not only by providing useful advice, but it can also help to reduce student anxiety.
A bumper video is a short video that can be used to provide clarity on a topic or an assignment. I created a bumper video explaining how to complete my environmental footprint assignment. As students view the video, they are not only able to see step-by-step instructions, but they also see what end product they should have once the assignment is completed.
Using a microlecture, which is less than 10 minutes long, is a perfect way to focus on a single topic aligned with at least one learning objective. I created a microlecture on the Tragedy of the Commons. This lecture would be part of a larger environmental economics lecture. Sometimes information can get lost when too much is content provided at once. Since the Tragedy of the Commons is a critical topic in environmental courses, it is worthy of being singled out so students realize its significance. The learning objective of the video is for students to understand how the Tragedy of the Commons can lead to negative environmental impacts.
