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For my colleagues who are now being instructed to put some or all of
the remainder of their semester online, now is a time to do a poor
job of it. You are NOT building an online class. You are NOT teaching
students who can be expected to be ready to learn online. And, most
importantly, your class is NOT the highest priority of their OR your
life right now. Release yourself from high expectations right now,
because that’s the best way to help your students learn.
If you are getting sucked into the pedagogy of online learning or
just now discovering that there are some pretty awesome tools out
there to support student online, stop. Stop now. Ask yourself: Do I
really care about this? (Probably not, or else you would have
explored it earlier.)
14. Don’t do too much. Right now, your students don’t need it. They
need time to do the other things they need to do.
15. Listen for them asking for help. They may be anxious. They may
be tired. Many students are returning to their parents’ home where
they may not be welcome. Others will be at home with partners who
are violent. School has been a safe place for them, and now it’s not
available to them. Your class may matter to them a lot when they are
able to focus on it, but it may not matter much now, in contrast to
all the other things they have to deal with. Don’t let that hurt
your feelings, and don’t hold it against them in future semesters or
when they come back to ask for a letter of recommendation.