Multiple colleagues referenced how they approached the use of technology in their remote instruction practices. Reflections highlight the benefits of incorporating brief, segmented videos to sustain student engagement and leveraging a “keep it simple” approach to technology.
“Prepping to make videos is challenging, but breaking components down in smaller chunks is helpful! It makes it easier to "recover" if you mess up a recording or need to reschedule, and smaller videos can be more easily reused. But also, hold live class! For the students that want to be there live, they really seem to benefit.”
“Simplify the technology. There is the temptation to introduce many applications and choices into the course to turn the whole ordeal into a media lab. I advise against this, because while it is tempting to excite them with possibilities, it distracts students from focusing on orthodox research skills that actually do not change very much pre or mid or post-pandemic. When you find some media that work, stay with it and refine it to make it better, and develop a [routine] so that students do not get confused with having to adjust to new platforms every week. The students believe in their own learning and in the success of the course. If you are unsure about something, just keep moving forward and focus less on technical details and more on their learning, but make sure that the technical issues are in place for all the major assignments. In my teaching philosophy, I believe that most of the assignments should be about a specific learning objective; thinking about this aspect and using any of the media tools at your disposal to get there will lead to a successful outcome that will be evidenced in their papers/assignments.”
“I use power-point presentations for each class. I also showed video clips of films or documentaries at the beginning of each class that supplemented what the power-point would discuss. [In one session], I provided visual content along with commentary, and gave students the opportunity to respond to questions I posed, and posted their responses in the power-point. It resulted in active participation, and almost 100% attendance at every class session.”