Humanizing Online STEM Showcase
Where I was.
Post-pandemic, I realized that online education is expanding, and I wanted to learn more about offering the best education possible using online platforms. Previously, I was resistant to online modalities, especially STEM, mainly because my personal, educational experience in STEM was very traditional. However, times are changing, and I want to embrace the new learning modality for our young generations. Also, I was timid when it came to learning new technology and using these skills to offer online learning. My hesitation mainly comes from personal biases given that I do not use social media, as I do not have Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok accounts. Thus, before this course, I was at a place characterized by much hesitation and almost resistance to innovative online teaching.
Where I am.
After completing this Humanizing Academy, I am better equipped to use these online tools and websites to enhance my teaching. I found this very surprising because these types of “know-how” are often regularly discussed among instructors. Thus, I feel this type of course is significant because it provides knowledge about online tools in small steps. These include Flip, Adobe Express, YouTube embedded videos, and Canvas web development. Also, the student interview resonated with some key points from the modules. What stayed with me was that the student said it was not a matter of “like” for online classes but rather a “necessity” because she could not attend F2F due to her job schedule. This point was stated in the modules about providing access to education for all, regardless of circumstances. Lastly, I learned to make an extra effort and showcase my kindness and presence when offering online classes. I think it is essential to assure students of my approachability and appreciation for their actions.
Where I am going.
In the next 6-12 months, I foresee more online classes being offered, and I want to embrace this change. I want not to fear or hesitate just because I don’t know how to do something. I do believe that good instruction can be delivered via online media, but the instructor must be adequately trained. This is why I took this course. In the future, I want to offer more online classes and take all that I have learned here and apply it in practice. I will increase my teaching presence in online courses and include storytelling. In addition, I will implement more student-student interactions, similar to the flip exercises taught here.
Liquid Syllabus
I think my liquid syllabus has useful information about the course that is easy to navigate for students. My next step is to build similar websites for my other courses, even if they are not fully online, because I believe it is a good teaching tool to have. Furthermore, I believe the liquid syllabus can build trust between myself as the instructor and the students. I think that having a warm interface before the course begins can give students assurance about the online class and about their instructor.
Course Card
This was the picture I composited by merging several pictures. This was a fun experience, as I do not often use photo software. Here I merged 3 pictures into one meaningful image that I chose for my course card. It is special to me because it has people represented in a diverse manner. Also, the picture shows the students in an academic office background, almost in action and learning. This was done by placing the office furniture in front of the students.
Homepage
Here, we have my Introduction to psychology 101 home page. I had fun creating this home page because I got to experiment with pictures in a more meaningful way. This home page serves as a kindness cue because of the friendly picture I posted behind the books. In addition, I chose to include the “bubble” where I can implement text. This was inspired by comic-books, so I think in the future, I will try to develop more “comic-book” themes and include them onto my courses. This approach I believe will help students feel welcomed and promote social inclusion, because of the universal theme.
Getting to Know You Survey
This is a short video of my “getting to know you survey”. The survey will appear first under the “Module # 1” getting started tab. I feel this is the best place where the survey can fit in the course. The questions I chose were designed to better understand my student’s needs. This is because I want to communicate with my students, from the beginning of the semester, that I want to help them succeed in my class. I plan to use the survey as extra credit to incentives responses. Responses will then be incorporated into the class to more closely tailor the online course to meet the needs of students.
Wisdom Wall
This wisdom wall activity asks Psychology 101 students to share any advice they might have on best study practices for Exam # 1. The video is a short clip, most likely my shortest ever, where I inform students that the activity is optional with no penalty if they choose not to participate. The activity is a good exercise where students can leave feedback and comments for each other. Future students can gain insight into stud methods and ways to overcome challenges for the first exam. This, in turn, will help students with adjusted study habits or techniques for future assessments.
Bumper Video
One of the last topics covered in Introduction to psychology 101 is mental health and illness. The topic can “hit close to home” for some students and thus creating a video that first introduces the topic was important to me. I really enjoyed making the presentation and believe the bumper video assignment directly fits well with the psychology 101 course. The main purpose it serves is simply to introduce the topic and let everyone understand we are embarking on a topic that is significant for some. This approach I believe will greatly enhance the learning experience of future students, and I will be using the concept regularly in future semesters.
Microlecture
During the middle of the semester, students will focus on reading journal articles. As a class, we discuss what are journal articles, and how to approach them from an academic perspective. This short 9-minute video is my micro lecture which helps introduce the topic to students. Th learn objectives are to identify the author, and the college or university they represent. In addition, students are to identify the name of the journal and the impact factor of that publication platform. I expect to improve by recording my future video with a better microphone and develop a “part 2” whereby I explain the remaining learning objectives to students. I think that “chunking” data in small steps at first is a good practice for students as some of the material can be challenging. This approach can benefit both dependent and independent learners.
Student Voices Interview
Although not requested for the “Showcase”, I wanted to share my student voices interview video. I thought that this video was better than my previous attempts with Adobe Express. I guess with practice I will become better at it, and soon enough I will be able to produce good video quality. Thank you for teaching me this tool and giving me the new skill : -)
This site is by Oscar V. Torres 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.