Across the country, so many of my colleagues are facing the prospect of teaching an entire semester of university courses online for the first time. For faculty experienced in face-to-face instruction, and for faculty developers supporting them, this may seem like a daunting task. As institutional decisions about fall instruction and questions about how best to support faculty hang in the air, some concise guidance can begin to focus attention on key aspects of instruction and course design that will be critical for fall courses that may be taught entirely online.
While technological tools and skills were the focus of much support in the abrupt mid-semester spring transition at many institutions, an entirely online fall calls for more careful attention to key decisions from a course design perspective. For example, faculty used to teaching face-to-face courses will want to carefully reconsider their major assessments of learning. Many research and project-based assessments of learning can be readily adjusted for online course delivery. These kinds of projects can become even more robust in an online environment if faculty encourage students to use a wide range of technological tools to create multimedia projects, digital portfolios, and collaborative presentations. These presentations can be shared and developed further through class discussion asynchronously through tools like the video-discussion platform Flipgrid.
Face-to-face instructors who rely on closed-book exams and quizzes will want to think carefully about how to modify those assessments given the possibility of online course delivery. In addition to understanding whether or not proctoring tools are institutionally available, faculty should think realistically about their students’ access to reliable internet and suitable devices. The spring made clear how many of our students, once they returned home, were sharing one device with multiple family members or struggling to complete course work without adequate internet. This decision tree can help faculty members in these situations think through some common adjustments to exams and quizzes, as well as participation and attendance.
