I entered the Humanized Online Teaching Academy as an instructor that has classes both face-to-face and online. I have a strong connection with students face-to face but didn't like the feeling I had lacking a connection with my online students. I knew what a good online course looked like but lacked the skills and tools to know how to connect to my students. My online course has the staples of the academic curriculum in it but the humanized aspect just wasn't there.
As I finish this Humanzied Online Teaching Academy, I feel like I have grown tremendously as an instructor. I have been shown tools and skills that I didn't previously have or know about. Not only do I feel like I have new tools, skills and web resources, I now have the confidence to use them and build into my curriculum. The instructors for this Humanized Academy have modeled the very Humanized approach they are facilitating to us.
I look forward to putting the time into recreating my online courses to model what I have learned. Much of this academy scratched the surface of what to do, but it gave us the skils and foundation to build on, which I fully intend to do. The first two weeks of my semester are already done, which is a crucial time with our students. I'm looking forward to this new approach and feel energized to do so! I intend to share the my showcase to my colleagues in my department on how online instruction can not only be valuable but how to put the personalized connections to it to still build connectedness like an in person class but online.