April 8 Day 31: A New Hope

Today was the first time I felt ready and fully prepare for class (I even took time out to have lunch with my family beforehand!) Not sure what is different—maybe it’s me being more prepared, maybe it’s them being more used to online interaction, or maybe it’s some combination of the two. Whatever it is,Continue reading “April 8 Day 31: A New Hope”

April 7 Day 30: Online Wait Time

Getting better at online interactivity. 24/25 present. Started with group presentations; student spokespeople  sharing computer screens. We worked  examples, discussed writing, and ended with a mini lecture. I ask a lot of questions. Giving sufficient wait time for student responses is harder in a remote class room than in a face-to-face one. Seven seconds seemsContinue reading “April 7 Day 30: Online Wait Time”

April 6 Day 29: Zoom Frustrations Again

How did the Zoom settings change again? Videos that were purposely public now require authentication of the user to watch. And I couldn’t share my iPad screen today (something I have been doing for over a year. It wouldn’t even occur to me to check something that is so second nature.) I figured it allContinue reading “April 6 Day 29: Zoom Frustrations Again”

April 4 Days 26-27: I Believe in Academic Freedom

I hear a lot of certainty about the “right way” to approach online teaching in this crisis. That makes me nervous. Opinions are being presented as fact. What if I chose to do something differently—either because it works well for my style or I see it fills a need for my students? Will I be judged poorly because I was not following recommended guidelines?

April 2 Day 25: Novel Zooming

Finished the first week of Zoom classes for the Spring quarter and I am exhausted. There were some challenges to be sure but for the most part, I am pleased with the students and our “soft start” to the quarter. I’m excited to share my novel use of an iPad in a Zoom meeting (atContinue reading “April 2 Day 25: Novel Zooming”

March 29 Day 21: Full Circle

Everything has been communicated and released to the students—for the first week anyways. There will be a lot of experimentation in our “getting-to-know-you session.” A google doc, a sample quiz with different kinds questions and different ways to enter responses, randomly generated Zoom breakout rooms with assigned roles, and finally a upload assignment for theContinue reading “March 29 Day 21: Full Circle”