By Melanie Stefan, University of Edinburgh
So, you have been asked to move your teaching online because of COVID-19? Welcome. I work at the University of Edinburgh, but my teaching is within the Edinburgh-Zhejiang Joint Institute in Haining, China. We have been teaching online since mid-February. Here are a few things I have learnt during this time:
1. This is not an online course
You have seen online courses. Maybe you have taken a few on EdX or Coursera or a similar platform. Courses like that are very carefully planned, often over many years. They are also specifically for students who intentionally and willingly sign up for this mode of delivery. The teaching we do during COVID-19 is very different. Courses that were designed for in-person or blended delivery have had to move online at very short notice, and neither students nor instructors nor administrators signed up for this way of learning and teaching. It would be unfair to compare this COVID-19 teaching either to other forms of online teaching or to the in-person teaching we are used to.
2. Let go of perfectionism
Perfectionism is the enemy. In my first weeks of teaching, I would re-record parts of lectures when I did not like the first recording – maybe I misspoke, maybe an explanation was not as clear as it could have been, maybe a notification popped up on my screen during a screen capture. I would then painstakingly edit bits together. An entire afternoon went into preparing a ten-minute segment on the chemical interactions that hold together protein structures. But it became clear very quickly that we do not have the time for this. And nor do we need to do this. In an actual lecture, not everything will be perfect. Mistakes will be made, they can be corrected, and it’s fine.
3. It’s not “the same, but online”
Moving to online teaching does not mean doing the same things we have always done, but now it’s online. Some things are very difficult to translate to an online setting, and some may be impossible, especially when it comes to practicals and lab work. Our first instinct is to replace whatever we were doing by the closest approximation to it. Instead of lecturing to a full auditorium, lecturing to an empty auditorium and live-streaming the lecture. Instead of having an in-person group discussion, have a discussion on video call. Instead of having an in-paper exam, have an online exam. But this may not always be the best option. Do students get anything out of seeing their lecturer perform in real-time? Or are they better served by a recording of the slides plus voice-over that they can watch any time? Is an exam the best form of assessment under the circumstances, or are there other ways to ensure the learning objectives are met?
4. Use the format to your advantage
There may be advantages to online teaching, things that we weren’t able to do (or do well) in face-to-face teaching. For instance, one of the advantages of using lecture recordings is their asynchrony. Students can use them whenever they want, and over a longer time period than a traditional lecture. I like to use “think-pair-share” techniques in lectures, where students have to think about a question, discuss it with the person sitting next to them, and then share with the class. The disadvantage in a traditional lecture setting is that we have to give everyone the same amount of time to think about a question, because the lecture has to move on after a few minutes. For a recorded lecture, I can split the recording into several parts and ask students to move on to the next part of a recording once they have thought about a question. It is then up to the student to decide how much time they need (or want) to spend on thinking about a question before they are ready for the next part.
5. Think about access
When you move your teaching online, think about access. A live Q and A session can be engaging, but for students who have had to move back to their home country during lockdown and are in a different time zone, attending one can be complicated. Not all students have fast and reliable internet connections at home, and some may have to share a computer with other family members. Working with recordings and discussion removes synchronicity and therefore makes it easier for students to access content on their own schedule. Smaller files are easier to download than larger files. Lecture recordings can be difficult to understand for students with some disabilities, or students whose first language is not English. Post the lecture slides in addition to the recording to improve access.
6. It’s difficult for everybody
Switching to online teaching at short notice in a crisis is extremely difficult for teaching staff. It is also very difficult for the students. They have to quickly get used to new ways of learning and assessment. During lockdown, many are physically removed from their peer support system. Many are self-isolating in environments that are not necessarily conducive to learning. They may have taken on caring responsibilities during this pandemic, or they are themselves at risk.
This is also a difficult time for other staff who facilitate the smooth operation of the university’s teaching activities such as administrators, tech support, and teaching lab managers. They suddenly face big changes in systems and procedures, and often go above and beyond to ensure a smooth continuation of learning and teaching during the crisis. Prioritise what you ask of them. And be nice.
7. Ask your university leadership for help
Individual lecturers can do a lot to adapt to this new form of online learning, but there are things that need to be done at a higher level. Department or university leaders, here are a few ways you can help:
- Have clear procedures for ensuring student welfare, including regulations for special circumstances, extensions, assessments etc. during COVID-19
- Create ways in which students can access their regular support systems (e.g. mental health support, disability offices, careers services) even while off-campus
- Change some of the rules and regulations, for instance to fast-track changes to course structures and assessments through the necessary approval processes
- Increase tech support, as well as administrative support. This may mean hiring new people, or it may mean reprioritising other projects.
- Be transparent about all measures and communicate them to both students and staff. Difficult decisions have to be made. Make them early, so students and staff have a chance to plan ahead.
- Be mindful of the increased workload that comes with responding to the current crisis. Account for this in future decisions about promotion and tenure.