So how does this work? I've never done an asynchronous workshop before!
The asynchronous portion of this workshop series consists of six modules that will be released over the course of July 2021. Asynchronous means that you can do things on your own schedule! You don't need to have work done by a certain date/time -- you can watch videos, complete reflection activities, engage with other workshop participants, or explore recommended resources when it works best for you.
How should I plan to engage with this content?
You have choices! We've provided multiple modes of engagement, so that you can opt for the mode most beneficial for you. Each module consists of 2 brief videos, each accompanied by 1 or 2 reflection or engagement activities, and a handful of suggested resources to explore. Within each module, we recommend that you watch each video first before completing its accompanying reflection or engagement activity and that you watch the videos in the order in which they appear on the page. Also, we encourage you to create a teaching journal for ongoing pedagogical development, just because it's a great way to keep all your teaching notes in one place. You can complete the reflection exercises either by reflecting individually in your journal and/or by sharing your reflections with other workshop participants in the Discord community (see below for more Discord info) or, sometimes, via collaborative Google docs. And you should feel free to reach out to us via the 'Help' page linked in the menu above, if you have questions.
How long will this take?
We recommend that you allocate 1-1.5 hours per module. Although we recommend you watch the videos before completing the other activities, you may divide up the tasks as suits your schedule. You may find that you synthesize the material better if you spread the work out over the course of several days (spending, say, 30 minutes at a time); or you may prefer to work through all of the materials in one afternoon. Also, we have laid out the modules in the order we feel makes the most sense, but you should feel free to skip around and allocate your time as suits your interests and needs. It's up to you!
But won't I be missing the community aspect of a workshop? I thought learning happens best when it's collaborative, and asynchronous work feels very isolated.
We're encouraging multiple modes of asynchronous engagement to create a community that suits different preferences and contexts. We'll use Google docs for some collaborative work, but the majority of the community experiences for the asynchronous portion of the workshop will happen on Discord! When you registered for the workshop, you received a link to access the Discord server. There are different channels for each module where you can engage with your fellow workshop participants. If you aren't familiar with Discord, you can watch a quick tutorial video below!
Sidenote: how did you decide on the format of your videos? Are there "best practices" for making instructional videos?
What a great question! We set up a whole page about our thoughts on making instructional videos here.
If everything makes sense and you have no further questions, please pop into the Discord (you received the link via email) and introduce yourself in the channel for introductions!