Depending on your course, you may need to deliver some lectures to keep the course moving along. Be aware, though, that a live lecture sprinkled with questions and activities can become gruelling when delivered online without intellectual breaks.
Here are a few suggestions to improve online lectures:
- Record in small chunks: To aid student learning, record any lectures in shorter (5-10 minute) chunks, and intersperse them with small activities that give students opportunities to process the new knowledge, make connections to other concepts, apply an idea, or make some notes in response to prompts. An added advantage is that shorter videos lead to smaller files which benefit students reliant their phones or with poor internet connections.
- Be flexible with live video: Lecturing live with Canvas Conferences is certainly possible, and possibly best approximates a classroom setting as students can ask questions. However, this crisis may mean that some students won't have access to fast internet connections, and others may have their schedules disrupted. So, record any live classroom session, and be flexible about how students can attend and participate. Creating a video can be done in a variety of ways you can:
- Remember It's not just about content : In times like these, lectures can mean much more than just providing course content; they are also a means of establishing a sense of normality and a personal connection. For online courses, there is much talk about the importance of "instructor presence", and that's just as true during short-term online stints such as this. So, consider ways that you can use lectures to make students feel connected and cared about: acknowledgement of current challenges, praise for good work, and reminders about the class being a community. This affective work can help their learning during this difficult time.
If you are considering, delivering a live class then the following resources might be helpful::
- DCUs #OpenTeach Project which aims to address the challenge of effectively supporting the professional development of part-time educators involved in teaching online higher education programmes. Generally, the project aims to generate new knowledge about effective online teaching practice and to harness this new knowledge to support the professional development of online teachers and to more effectively support online student learning experiences. Some useful resources include:
- Teaching online is different report
- Teaching Online Takeaway Guides which includes:
- A number of PDFs on the following:
- Getting started with teaching online
- Social Presence
- Social Presence in Large Classes
- Online class & collaboration
- Supporting online Students
- Facilitating discussion forums
- Tips from the Coalface, a series of short videos on online teaching practice:
- A number of PDFs on the following:
- Advice on giving a webinar for the first time: A Twitter post from Dr Andy Clegg, University of Portsmouth,
