Don't Worry, We Will Get Through This Together

The move to digital delivery has gotten us to this point and we can see the final exam period at the end of the tunnel. Now the real work begins. How do we take the classes that we taught onsite, that were then altered for distance learning, and create a robust, engaging, and interactive elearning course that will provide the deep learning our students need to compete in the new career landscape (Maloney and Kim do a good job of explaining the various stages of where higher ed finds itself). Recent research indicates that a well designed online course can have the same or better completion and retention rates as an onsite class. Another benefit of our current situation is that as our students become better at navigating online and hybrid classes, the larger their skill set becomes in tech literacy, one of the key abilities employers are looking for in new hires. We are certainly not alone in this transition but luckily we have a strong history of providing the training and support needed to create elearning courses of excellence. As we prepare for the summer semester, the eLearning Program will be offering a Training Institute Bootcamp. As in the past, the eLearning Training Institute will be conducted fully online. New for this next iteration is training that will combine what is needed to teach either online, hybrid or both. This multimodal training will essentially set us up for whatever comes next. Any faculty who plan to teach in the summer semester that are not currently certified to teach eLearning courses should notify their department chairs that they would like to participate in the Training Institute Bootcamp. For those looking to begin teaching eLearning courses in the fall, there will be another Training Institute in the summer. For those looking for resources  now, check out the on-demand webinars on the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement events calendar.

Take a Moment for Some Humor

In this brave new world, one of the things we may be losing is our sense of humor. It is easy to do because this pandemic is a very serious and dangerous situation. Will we return to normal? What does the new normal look like? Will we ever go back to our classrooms? When will all of this be over? In the middle of all of our questions, one thing we may all agree on is how resilient we and our students are. The Zoom meetings that allow us to engage with students and colleagues are also a window into our worlds away from BRCC. Are you brave enough to go live with your video? How many times did you move your computer to get the right background? Some of us have decided to just put a picture of ourselves on the screen. Even that comes with anxiety. Which shot do I use? Should I create a new shot just for my courses? Wait, where did this all start? Oh yes, with some levity. Take a look at Kristie Kaiser's blog post about teaching online. Her message is on point but she also remembers to bring the humor in at the end.

Your Resilience Is Amazing and Inspiring

In talking with a number of you over the last two weeks, it became apparent that the new way we are required to deliver our teaching would create some challenges and also provide us with a different way to look at things. We all use computers everyday whether it is a cell phone, laptop, iPad, or the very large computer that gets us from point A to point B (auto technicians will tell you that your car is just a bunch of computers now). So teaching in this new modality should be something that is familiar and also should look something like our onsite classes. I am talking about our learning outcomes and objectives in the latter part of that last sentence. Our curriculum must still be engaging, active, and connect to the current knowledge of the learner. It should also be logical as we build on the past to help our students develop new meanings and create new knowledge all in the ultimate goal of having them work-force ready when they graduate. Instructional designers will tell you that no matter how you plan to deliver the teaching, it still must start with the learning outcomes. What exactly are you trying to accomplish? That is what we have tried to stress in the past 10-14 days in our daily Zoom sessions, discussion boards, and one-on-one meetings (both by phone and through emails). By focusing on what the ultimate goal of your course has always been, you remain focused on the important things. We can still accomplish our teaching goals with simple, straightforward learning experiences. Continue to reach out if you need help. The amount of networking that is taking place across all disciplines is incredible. Even when the hardest job in higher education is compounded by something like a pandemic, our faculty still rise to the occasion with amazing resiliency..