I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again. ~attributed to Etienne de Grellet~
It's been the question filling up faculty listservs: What should we do about grades? I can see the variety of perspectives here (except the one about law schools and med schools demanding letter grades--they will figure something out if we refuse to give letter grades). BUT--let's be honest for a moment. The average GPA of... Continue Reading →
Online teaching is hard. I don't know anyone who does it well who thinks that it's easier than teaching in person. But there is a lot to love. Here are a few: 1. Your students will open up in ways that they cannot in a face-to-face class. Without worrying about how they look or how... Continue Reading →
If you are new to online teaching, here are some things that might grate on your nerves. I'm sorry. 1. Your administrators can enter into your digital classroom without notice, without warrant, and without you knowing about it. I'm sorry. It stinks. 2. For good and for bad, there is a digital record of all... Continue Reading →
Above, the interior of an empty, decaying shopping mall. Will campuses go the way of shopping malls? I doubt it. 95 b-body ss / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) Many teachers feel anxious about online classes not only because they don't feel qualified or eager to teach them but because they perceive these classes to be a... Continue Reading →
In the past, online courses were sometimes called "degree completion," reflecting the idea that they were for students who, for some reason or other, couldn't finish their degrees in person--and were for no one else. Too often, faculty attitudes toward these programs and students was disdain. If there was an occasional gem of a student,... Continue Reading →
If you've been following this series of posts about building an online course by design, you've framed your course, selected your materials, chosen your assignments, written your policies, and added all the other information your syllabus needs. Now is a good time to review your syllabus to a make sure it includes everything it needs... Continue Reading →
You've decided on what your students will be watching, reading, listening to, and doing in your class. You've set your due dates and written all your policies. What else does a syllabus need? Course name Course number CRN Semester Catalog description Program Goals Course objectives List of required materials List of prerequisite course and prerequisite... Continue Reading →
This blog post is part of a series to help you build an online course quickly. It is for people who are preparing to launch their third trimester in course that they thought would be F2F but will begin instead as an online course, those looking ahead to intensive May terms, and those who had... Continue Reading →
This blog post is part of a series to help you build an online course quickly. It is for people who are preparing to launch their third trimester in course that they thought would be F2F but will begin instead as an online course, those looking ahead to intensive May terms, and those who had... Continue Reading →
This blog post is part of a series to help you build an online course quickly. It is for people who are preparing to launch their third trimester in course that they thought would be F2F but will begin instead as an online course, those looking ahead to intensive May terms, and those who had... Continue Reading →
Rebecca Barrett-Fox 