Category Archives: teaching

April 25 Day 48: What Have I Done?

It’s Saturday. I spent the bulk of my day grading and I’m looking at a repeat performance tomorrow. In a time when I am trying to pare down to essential material, why do I keep asking so much of myself? Yes, yes…for the students. Absolutely. Develop that growth mindset. But do they appreciate it? DoContinue reading “April 25 Day 48: What Have I Done?”

April 22 Day 45: Hump Day in a Big Way

It’s Wednesday the traditional hump day of the week. By the title of this post, it is also the 45th day since I started emergency remote teaching. Now June 5, the last day of instruction for the University of Washington not including final exam week, is 45 days in the future. This moment marks theContinue reading “April 22 Day 45: Hump Day in a Big Way”

April 16 Day 38-39: No Visual Cues

I miss my students. Today I had a meeting with three students doing a reading course. We all know each other and have shared several classes together. The interaction online is easy—not exactly like being in the same room but we trust each other enough to make mistakes and not worry about what we say.Continue reading “April 16 Day 38-39: No Visual Cues”

April 13 Day 36: Don’t Call it Online Teaching

I was struck by the words of a colleague today. He said “this isn’t online teaching, this is emergency teaching” and he is absolutely right. There was no plan, no training, no intentional curriculum development—there was only a global health crisis. We responded because we had no choice. Every day, faculty, students, and staff battleContinue reading “April 13 Day 36: Don’t Call it Online Teaching”

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”