5. Classroom teaching
Teachers and students all over the world are forced to make many fast changes to the way they communicate, moving from face-to-face classes to online environments. This crisis hits right in the middle of academic semesters for most of the Northern Hemisphere, and, regardless of how good your internet connection is at home, most students had to quickly adapt and be ready to give classes and presentations from their bedroom.
Further, one should consider that presentations are only one of many ways to interact within a real classroom. Just think about how difficult it has become for Theater, Performing Arts and Fine Arts students to showcase their ongoing work that often relies on physical contact and the senses. In what follows, we summarize some of the tips to consider for online classroom teaching for lecturers and learning for students. (Work in progress)
- Accessibility: for teachers and students using platforms like Canvas - or other online course managers - it is good to practice to add image descriptions and alt-text to all videos, images, captions as well as transcripts of videos; check for screen reader availability.
- Synchronous learning: if your course is lecture-based then you may want use Zoom conferencing, with the option of recording your lecture and interactions with students as well as integrating apps to generate transcripts. Both can be uploaded on the online course manager or to a Google Drive folder that you share with all students. Discussion-based courses can also benefit from a conferencing environment, although this may require a stricter code of conduct (e.g. use the raise hand button; repeating your name every time you get a chance to speak). Keeping a flow in the conversation may be challenging but as in a real class, moments of silence are also moments for individual reflection and formulation of thoughts.
- Asynchronous learning: in both lecture-based and discussion-based courses it is possible to have non real time moments, where students can work in groups using Google docs while perhaps having break out discussions that they could coordinate on Slack. Some teachers may want to pre-record a presentation with a transcript of the narration while students can use tools like Voice Thread for final project presentations.
- Consider the type of assignment: with Canvas, it is possible to set up Discussions where short response papers can be posted in threads. Within Assignment one can set up deadlines for submissions of quizzes, tests, final papers and presentations. Quizzes and tests may be set up with tools like Typeform. Moving online can also offer opportunities for students to submit projects in digital format, such as maps in QGis, podcasts or perhaps get an extra credit for making meme TikToks.
- Giving feedback: for a student it can be highly rewarding to receive a well structured and specific feedback on what is done well, what is missing, what can be improved and how. The usual rubrics (online scoring guides with descriptions of how course learning outcomes are evaluated) and document annotations and comments, can be complemented with sound files of your voice narrating the feedback, videos and even some peer review among students (perhaps for discussion papers).
- Storing course materials: this can be on platforms like Canvas and Google Drive, but make life easy for your student and label articles, presentations or notes with the authors' surname and date, so they can find them.
For the students reading:
- Be patient, it is going to take some trial and error using platforms and digital tools on a daily basis with peers and professors with differing digital skills. Be supportive.
- For sometime we may not have other choice than to embrace online technology, and this may be an opportunity for all to learn new skills. For Theater and Performance Art Majors and Graduates this may be the time to experiment with the boundaries between theater and cinema, and make-do with the confined spaces of a home shared with others or your room until self-isolation is necessary.
- Communication will happen on a variety of platforms and if you're doing research for a project with other people you may have to touch base in the morning to streamline the day, or you may risk duplicating work, or not understanding when an output is due from you, delaying the work of somebody else. Speak out, instead of grumbling at the screen.
- Don't give up when you have a technical problem, ask your peers, FAQs and online trouble-shooting fora, think of workarounds and if nothing works pause, make a note of the issue, and move on. Something or someone along the way will unlock the solution.
- Quiet space for work in a flat-share or at home with your family or partner may be hard to come by. Discuss with your house members some quiet hours, a lower tone of voice over the phone, use ear/headphones. Perhaps invite them to join the class. Try to keep other online media and phone distraction away for the time you set to work and follow an online class.
And this last point is for all:
- Slow down: this is important in this historical moment as ever. Leave sometime for all to express how they feel, what they are going through and acknowledge that the trauma of social isolation may be adding up onto other people's preexisting anxieties, trauma and processing of grief.