Embedded Files
don't be afraid to fail
don't be afraid to fail
When I was teaching at a digital high school, I had a lot of fun trying new things that would have never been possible without the students having school-allotted devices. I also had many experiences when the technology didn't work or just didn't go as planned. The way that I dealt with the anxiety of a lesson going awry due to new technology was to preface it for my students:
"We're trying something new today. I'm really excited to see how it goes!"
or
"Please don't stress if it doesn't work right away. You aren't graded on your technology skills, and it's fun to try new things!"
or
"At the end of the day, you'll get to offer me feedback about how you think this went."
After a few attempts at new platforms throughout the first semester, my students got comfortable with trying things that didn't always work because I created a classroom environment in which technology hiccups didn't feel like personal failures.
This can be difficult in an online class, so it's important to preface any new technology with 1) patience and 2) communication to students that you're all trying something new--and that it's OK to try, try again.
What better way to model an authentic learning experience than to let your students see you struggle with something new?
Demonstrate Bravery
Demonstrate Bravery
I encourage the instructors I work with to be willing to try out new ideas and activities knowing that they might not work out. I encourage language in instructions that lets students know that the instructor is trying something new too to reduce the stress on the student if things don't go smoothly but also to model for students that the instructor is also an evolving learner. If the course is taught the same way every semester, while the students might not notice (though they probably will), I imagine the teacher would get bored or disconnected from the material.
It's best to try one or two new strategies (i.e. more frequent announcements, participating in discussions, or video feedback) or activities (e.g. Flipgrid, Adobe Spark, Google Forms) throughout the course and then evaluate at the end to see how it went to decide to go with it or reconfigure.
It was after participating in these @ONE courses as a student that I realized, from the student perspective, how important some of these activities are for community building and the ability to give feedback. Participating in Flipgrids really made me overcome my fear of my face on camera. I'm much more comfortable now, and I can offer that reassurance to instructors I work with. I can also attest to the connections that I felt when I saw my peers and instructors online as a student of these classes. I can explain from a student perspective that these activities helped me feel like I was interacting with real people.
Welcome Feedback
Welcome Feedback
I aim to incorporate ungraded Canvas feedback surveys and or Google Forms at the beginning, middle, and end of courses I help design to get a feel for what might need adjusted as the course goes along but also to be able to reflect before teaching the course again another semester. Especially when trying out new activities, it's important to evaluate the student feedback to learn how to improve the activities.
I knew that student feedback was important before I took these courses, but I didn't realize how empowering it would be as a student to be given the opportunity to offer feedback. For courses that went really well, I wanted to verbalize that. I was grateful for the experience and wanted to let the facilitators know. When there were things that I felt could be improved, I felt valued by being offered the chance to share these ideas.
Attributions
"Don't Look Down" by Sammie Vasquez on Unsplash Sign photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Mountain icon has been modified--original by Pettycon from PixabayStars in mountain icon image added from OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay Attributions
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse