3 Tips For a Remote Fall 2020
The fall semester is going to start soon, and the pandemic is still an ever-present threat. Going remote in the spring was unexpected, however, we can prepare for the fall. It is imperative that faculty reflect on the experiences of teaching in the spring to learn how to have a better remote fall.
I am an undergraduate at Rutgers University studying communication, digital media, and online instruction. In addition to being part of distilling the experiences of more than 3,000 of my contemporaries across the U.S., I thought it important to reflect on my own experiences of learning online, since I have more of them than most undergraduates. I took four years of high school online prior to the pandemic, completed the spring semester via remote learning, and took classes remotely this summer. I’ve condensed my observations into three crucial steps faculty need to take this fall.
Communicate. From day one, establish strong communication with your students. This is key; it was primarily thanks to my professors’ continuous efforts to remain in contact with their students that my classes switched to remote successfully. Outline your expectation that they will reach out to you, and that you will reply in kind, in the syllabus. Encourage them to come to you with concerns about the course. Choose a single mode for these conversations to take place (email is a popular choice with students), and maintain this channel consistently over the semester. You want to make sure that students know, and are frequently reminded, that they can reach out for help. And because of social distancing, it is easy to forget or misunderstand each other. For as long as remote education continues, use this as an opportunity to reaffirm to students that you have the same goals in mind.
Train. If your institution is offering training for remote teaching, take it. The spring was an unintended crash course in remote teaching; students have a right to expect more in the fall. Now is the time to develop your skills and knowledge on how to best approach teaching online. If training is offered on your institution’s learning management system, take it. If you hear about courses on presenting information effectively using unfamiliar programs (like Panopto), or better ways to use programs that you already know (like PowerPoint), please take them. Talk with colleagues to share what worked or didn’t work for them in their classes. Students want to learn, but poorly designed remote courses can hinder that. Using the full breadth of tools at your disposal, you can redesign your courses to be online as well as ensure a fair and effective online classroom for your students.
Adapt. This may seem obvious, but the spring semester proved that no one can ever be too prepared. Expect the unexpected. Have saved backups in case your videos don’t upload, or your PDFs can’t be read. Prepare to have backup assignments for students that don’t have a stable internet connection and may not be able to participate in live sessions. If you encountered an unexpected scenario in the spring, try to prepare for it ahead of time. And, if all your plans still can’t help you be ready for the worst, then be ready to make changes. Be as flexible as you can. Your students may not have a quiet place to attend classes. They may be taking care of family members or working while trying to finish college. This is not a request to “go easy” on them, but rather, to be willing to partner with your students to find creative solutions that work for both of you, in very imperfect circumstances.
These three tips are broad for a reason. They aren’t meant to be guidelines for a perfect fall semester, but rather, a way of responding well to the expected and unexpected. These are principles for making opportunities for students to grow in an ever-changing world. Let’s make this fall work better, for all of us.
