10 Tips to Moving Classes Online—Now

Many faculty are not "online teachers," but today are scrambling to move their classes online to accommodate campus shutdowns. To assist, NEA Today has gathered 10 tips from members of POD Network, an educational development network that partners with NEA on resources for our higher-education members.

• First, let your students know that you’re trying to make this work, but that it’s new and difficult. Then, as you dive into virtual teaching, invite your students to tell you what’s working for them, and what’s not. Ask their advice. This may be an opportunity to transform the one-way relationship between faculty and students—the traditional supplier-to-consumer system—into a real partnership around learning.
• Consider “hope” as an outcome, suggests Florida International University’s Stephanie Doscher. Between climate change, the Great Recession, and now coronavirus, Generation Z has many reasons to be the “worry generation.” “Yes, we must keep teaching. Students must keep learning the knowledge and skills of our disciplines. But this is a useless enterprise if we don’t first give our children a reason to hope,” she writes. “Listen. Empathize…We can use technology to create social closeness.”
• Understand that your typical goals must be trimmed. When faculty choose to teach online, they spend many months designing their syllabi, reflecting on best practices, mastering online technology. This is not that. You’re seeking to bridge a temporary gap in face-to-face instruction, and frankly, just doing the best that you can.
• Remember that human interaction underlays learning, and it’s harder to create that interaction online. Try to strike a welcoming tone in discussion boards, online forums and email. Faculty at “Connect @ XJTLU” recommend “creating spaces for students to ‘turn and talk’…both with each other and you.” Also consider using Zoom or another video technology to maintain office hours with students.
• If you’re making lecture videos for the first time, check out Indiana University’s “Keep Teaching.” suggestions. First, keep them short—five to 15 minutes. If you want students to watch multiple videos in a row, insert learning activities between them (for example, ask them to write a test question based on the video they just watched.) It’s probably best not to expect students to watch and participate in “live” lectures. Some won’t have access to fast internet, and others are dealing with schedule disruptions. Also, consider that you don’t have to make your own video! You might find an existing TED Talk that works well, or you could just give them the text of your lecture to read.
• Keep in mind that some students may only have a phone—not a laptop. Microsoft Word is a phone-friendly format, but PowerPoint isn’t. (Source: “Keep Teaching.”)
• Obviously in-person exams are off the table. Consider open-book exams or essays, or a series of assessments—quizzes or presentations—worth fewer points. Student presentations can be facilitated through Zoom. Be generous with deadline extensions. You and your students are dealing with a lot right now.
• Consider advocating for a pass/fail option. Some colleges and universities are opting to abandon letter grades, which may relieve your already stressed-out students. One model is Carnegie Mellon University’s “emergency grading” policy, which requires faculty to submit letter grades and then gives students the option of covering them up with a “P”.
• Remember that your class is a community! “If a crisis is disrupting classes, lectures can mean more than just providing course content; they also establish a sense of normalcy and a personal connection,” suggests Indiana University experts. Make sure your students know you care about them.
• Finally, look to faculty-development experts for help. If your institution doesn’t have a teaching and learning center, check out others. Many faculty developers suggest the strategies and resources at Indiana University’s “Keep Teaching.”