Re: [Phys-L] essay: "Please do a bad job of putting your courses online"

[Daniel MacIsaac <danmacisaac@gmail.com>]

Interestingly enough NY is officially using the phrase “Remote Teaching” not
Distance Learning or Online Learning or Distance Education etc etc.  
Almost as if getting any kinda transmission online will be a sufficient outcome
for this particular exercise...

Dr. Dan MacIsaac, Associate Professor of Physics & AAPT Fellow
Interim Chair, Department of Earth Sciences and Science Education
SUNY-Buffalo State College, SAMC160, 1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo
NY 14222  +1-716-878-3802 (vm) <macisadl@buffalostate.edu>


> On Mar 15, 2020, at 22:42, John Denker via Phys-l <phys-l@mail.phys-l.org> wrote:
>
> I quote without comment from:
>  https://anygoodthing.com/2020/03/12/please-do-a-bad-job-of-putting-your-courses-online/
>  viral 1700 word essay
>
> > 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.)
>
> [snip]
>
> > 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.
>
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