When the Humanizing STEM Academy started, I was fairly comfortable with an equitable teaching style in face-to-face classes (F2F). Although I used Canvas as a supplement prior to the pandemic, I had never taught 100% online courses, or ever taken one! I realized that I was not doing a good job of being a presence and creating community in in my online courses as in F2F. Besides requiring Discussions and having synchronous sessions, I did not know what to do. After teaching 100% online for the first time though, I wanted to continue to use much of what I learned to create "best of both worlds" hybrid courses going forward. In order to do that better, I signed up for the Humanizing STEM Academy.
Many parts of the course I was already familiar with and using, such as being a Warm Demander. It was nice to have all the ideas I have been exposed to haphazardly over the years put into a coherent order and system. The technical tools we learned were almost all new to me, however. Most if not all of the strategies we are learning will work just as well and enhance the student experience in an in-person course, such as my new Course Card and Liquid Syllabus. I was introduced to many resources, such as for finding photos showing diverse participants that I can incorporate into a variety of assignments. The most exciting aspect of the course for me is the new tools I have learned, including Canva, Google Sites, Adobe Express and Flip. I definitely feel like I am prepared now to be personally present in my online content and to develop a community feel for students.
It will take me some time to process all that I have learned and work the tools into my courses. I plan to slowly update and improve my courses over time. I also look forward to sharing what we learned in this class with other faculty at my college. We learned so many things that are relatively quick and easy to do. I want to introduce those to my colleagues who may not have the time or motivation to devote to the whole Academy. I am already planning to deliver a Professional Development workshop with the other Grossmont faculty who were in my cohort.