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.
At the start of the Humanizing course I have been teaching online due to COVID restrictions for about three years. I felt pretty tech savvy even at the start of teaching online and I did take a tutorial course from the distance learning department on how to use canvas. I did know how to create a course card and course banner but that was about it. I did post my recorded lectures but I didn't take too much time to edit any captions or add any personal imperfect videos. I also didn't buy a HD webcam or microphone. I was basically just winging it!
After taking this humanizing course, I know that editing my videos by adding accurate captions and even creating short videos can really help humanize the course a lot. I now know how to use Adobe express to add background music and add animations to a short instructional video to make the course more fun. I hadn't listened to my recorded lectures very often in the past three years. I know now that my voice can be muffed at times and now, I know that I need to purchase a microphone to remedy that. In summary, this course allowed me to take a hard look at my online presence. I now know that my online presence is important and affects students’ learning.
The next step for me is to definitely buy a HD webcam and microphone. I will create a short welcome video to add to my canvas home page with background music. I just added this for my Summer 2023 courses. I don't know if I'm going to have time to incorporate additional short videos such as the bumper video or micro lecture but now, I know that it can be important for the online learning experience. I also incorporated the getting to know you survey for my courses. I do have a discussion icebreaker for start each course but added extra credit for audio or video recording. In the future, I do want to incorporate more course discussions where students can share information with each other and hopefully record video reply's in discussion assignments as well!
The liquid syllabus starts with an introduction about me and a short imperfect welcome video where I discuss more information about myself. This allows students to see me as a regular person and hopefully I'm not so scary to them anymore. The second part shows important information about meeting dates and times, a zoom link, and all the requirements for the course. I think it's important to also copy the long web address of the zoom link so students that aren't as tech savvy can still get to the zoom meeting. The third section is contact information. This is important because it lists times for student drop in for questions during office hours. It also lists how I will communicate with them and how quickly I will respond. They can also use this information to send me an email before class starts. I also include the link for the Q&A discussion board where they can actually start posting questions before class starts. The fourth section lists all the first due dates for week one including links to those assignments and to the modules where they are located. In this section, I provide details about the materials that they need for week 1 and information on how to obtain these materials including links.
The fifth section outlines the student and educator learning pact. This section is important because it expresses that as an instructor, I will be an active participant in their learning process. It lets them know that I'm there to support them and gives details on what my expectations are from them as a student. The sixth section outlines my teaching philosophy. It emphasizes again my role as a being humanizing instructor that is here to support them and celebrates individuality and differences between the students in the class. The seventh section lists eight tips for success in the course. The eight section list the course description, objectives, and learning outcomes listed on the course information page from the college. The last section list links for help guides, health services, disability support page, tutoring and food pantry links. The canvas course button is at the bottom.
I chose this course card because it shows students of color learning together. It conveys a message that building comradery is important for learning. I like the stickers on the computers and individual style each person has in the photo. I think I will choose a similar photo for my classes. I think smiling in photos is also important. It also conveys the message that you can study at any location.
My homepage has important links for the syllabus, modules, student services and Q&A discussion. It also has a short summary of the topics covered in the course and motivation for the course. In the instructor information section, there is a short welcome video of me introducing myself, what I like to do in my free time and includes background music. This video serves as a great kindness cue on the homepage, usually the first page the students sees in Canvas. Lastly, it lists contact information and multiple ways to contact me. It also has another link at the bottom for the modules and office hour information with the class zoom link.
The getting to know you survey an open ended essay style assignment where the students can share how they feel about the class and communicate any concerns. This assignment is important because it communicates that, as an instructor, I sympathize and understand that they have responsibilities outside of the class and that they have a busy schedule. This assignment serves as a kindness cue because it shows that I care about them and that I am listening to their needs.
The self affirming ice breaker assignment includes a video response via Flip and allows students to reply to classmates via text, audio or video recording. The students will record a video sharing one item that is important to them and this item shows their culture, family or friends relationships, and values. This assignment fosters a sense of belonging because it allows students to share their real world experiences. Students are able to view all of their classmates responses and connect to each other by replying to one or more classmates. Students will be able to foster a sense of community and see how they are alike and different from each other. Students can learn about other cultures and customs.
This bumper video is about calculating variable force and work done using the spring formula. This topic is one of the first topics for physical applications for integration. It shows the the formula for the force of a spring, how to solve the for the spring constant, and how to find the work done to stretch a spring. This video will get the students started with this topic. This video has a lot of animation and background music that makes learning more fun!
My microlecture was the second topic in using integration to find volumes of a solid of revelation using the disk method. This is one of two main methods used in this section that is about finding volumes using integration. The best part of this microlecture is that it includes 3D interactive figures that allow the students to now see the 3D figure instead of having to imagine/draw the 3D figure. These figures are used through out the online textbook and serves as a great tool for improving the learning experience, especially for complex topics and applications. I wish these figures were available when I was in school!
