There are a number of reasonable reactions when you’re instructor tells you that you are officially halfway through the semester. For myself, the most obvious response is abject terror (with impending due dates looming), but for others this is a time for reflection.
Adapted from “Canis Lupus Familaris Perro Mestizo” by Petruss, and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
With the latter in mind let’s discuss what we’ve learnt thus far.
The Tools I Have Found Most Useful for Online and Blended Learning
Even the most adamant purveyors of online learning tools freely admit that a “one-size-fits-all” model is inappropriate in the distance education space. As one of our presenters noted this week it is the responsiblity of individual instructors to vet and select the tools most appropriate for the needs of their students. When aligned with the needs of learners, Gunpreesh argued that distance education tools streamline instruction (freeing up time for teachers to support individual students). While I agree that this marriage between task and toolset is ideal, in my personal experience the learning curve for some tools is steap enough to act as a deterrent. Like most teachers I had to put these concerns aside during the COVID-19 pandemic and engage in Emergency Remote Learning (ERT). During the same time I completed a college certificate in web design, as well as started a Masters degree. These experiences exposed me to a variety of tools used in online and blended learning environments. These are some of my favourites.
- Google Classroom – It may seem a bit trite to bring attention to a company that is responsible for over 90% of global search engine traffic, but it was unquestionably the tool I utilized the most during the pandemic. The integration between Slides, Drive, and Meets made for a mostly seamless teaching package. I recorded dozens of video lessons and posted them to my classroom where students were able to access them 24/7. That said I found the deluge of comments, notifications, and assignments that flooded in through this platform to be overwhelming. Furthermore, I found interactions between students to be minimal and low quality (no discussion, problems solving, or debate was occurring). Whether this can be attributed to the platform itself is questionable (many of my students took on additional responsibilities during the pandemic and access to reliable Internet was a constant struggle).
- Desmos – As a senior high school mathematics instructor I find the idea of a student having to spend upwards of $150 dollars on a graphing calculator abhorrent. As per our class discussions, equitable access to technology is a growing concern, particularly in online and blended learining environments. What Desmos offers is a free and intuitive online graphing calculator. A particular annoyance of teaching senior mathematics is battling with archaic graphing calculators, that while powerful, have lagged decades behind in modern user interface design. I often spend much more time wrestling with the shortcomings of these devices rather than exploring mathematical concepts with my students. Desmos works very well with touch screen mobile devices (which streamlines instruction). My enthusiasm for its use is only tempered by realisation that nothing is truly “free” in education, and although Desmos is a public benefit corporation, they are still a for prorfit entity. I also worry that in the future this free service will move to a paid model, or restict features behind a paywall.
How My Current Context Would Change in an Online or Blended Environment
If I were to suddenly move to an online teaching environment I would still make use of the tools listed above, but the style of lessons I would engage in would have to change dramatically. My course work is designed for in person instruction. Translating what I currently do to an online space would not work well. Essentially online courses need to be designed from the outset accounting for strengths and weaknesses of digital platforms. Online classrooms should not try to duplicate in person instruction.
Most of my meaningful interaction comes from conversations with students, this would need to be faciliated through the use of break out rooms, interactive apps (like Google Jamboard, or Flipgrid), and message boards/blogs. However I don’t feel that I would enjoy teaching online as much as I do in person. I think I would desperately miss the face to face interactions with my students. I also believe motivating my students would be challenging in an online environment. As we’ve discussed in class online learning tools are designed with an ideal student in mind (regardless of marketing claims). Distance education students need to be motivated, self sufficient, and adept at searching out information. As Tyler Dewitt argued one of the greatest strenghths of online distance education is the ability to select one’s own instructor through platforms like YouTube. Students who are not willing, or able, to shop around for instruction that fits their learning style (or needs) will be at a significant disadvantage. As an online instructor I would have to move outside of my comfort zone more often, linking my students to other instructors, platforms, and videos (I do this already, but not to the extent neccessary for a successful distance education platform).
To conlcude I would like to leave you with the following questions:
- What aspect of teaching do you find most difficult to replicate in an online environment?
- What aspects of teaching translate well to online education? If you find certain aspects superior online please elaborate.
- Is there a particular platform or application that you’ve recently discovered that you wish all teachers knew about?
Hi Matt – another great post! I too utilized Google Classroom/Google Suits for Education the most both during pandemic and regular teaching now that we are back in the classroom. I echo your thoughts on feeling overwhelmed when the assignments, messages, alerts, etc. started flooding back in. I even had to disable the students ability to talk on The Stream inside Google Classroom as there was some not so nice conversations happening on there.
Hey Matt,
Thank-you for your post. I appreciate the questions to consider at the end. I think my answer to the most difficult aspect of teaching to replicate is eye contact, which is huge. It is huge in creating a connection, a sense of belonging and care and that is an impossible thing to replicate online. I went to see Dr. Jodi Carrington, a clinical psychologist, speak last week and she mentioned that one of the biggest factors in behavior changes amongst our generations is the lack of connection, specifically that which comes with eye contact. She said that her generation looks at their children 75% less than her parent’s generation. (I have not been able to find the research to support this yet) Which honestly blew my mind, but made sense when we think about how busy everyone is, going to and from sports, school, clubs, work, ect. How often do we actually get to sit and make eye contact with people? How do we make a connection with our students, show them that we care and help walk them through some of their moments of despair or anger, if we are not able to make eye contact with them?
Hello Matt!
Thank you for such an interesting post!
I started using Google Suits and ed tools for teaching during the pandemic only and then I realized the multifaceted features that these tools offer. Well, I would like to answer your first question… aspect of teaching I find most difficult to replicate in an online environment can judge students’ interest in the class. In the F2F setting I can easily observe a child’s face and understand his engagement or level of interest in the classroom but in online sometimes the student’s camera is off and most of the time I am not able to see the whole class at a time. So I believe this results in a lack of connection between students and teachers.