1/ We need to talk about how we talk about online teaching 🗣️. Some loosely threaded thoughts 👇
2/ Teaching happens in a space. That space can be online or “on ground”. “On ground” is a great phrase they use in @ASU. I like it because it shifts the language away from “on campus” which infers a type of primacy on that modality.
3/ Ditch "virtual" classrooms. “Virtual” says not-real. Online learning is real. And it can be really good (even better than the real thing). Say “live online classroom”.
4/ “Live” makes you sound like a rock-star. Which you are. All the passion, expertise and pure grá you have for teaching still applies online. You bring that with you. You don’t lose that stuff in a different space.
5/ See David Byrne - How Architecture Helped Music Evolve bit.ly/2QavVPn Cathedrals are acoustically designed for choral music but you can’t play an electric guitar in one. Hip hop sounds great blaring from a car stereo.
5/ Online can be intimate, personal, anonymous. You can create great teaching spaces there.
Asynchronous is robust, reliable, and reflective. Synchronous is exciting, interactive and falls over.
Asynchronous is robust, reliable, and reflective. Synchronous is exciting, interactive and falls over.
6/ Beware of dualism: Tech v pedagogy, online v face to face. Do we say meetings are better than email? Nope, we use both in a mix, a blend. Think about what blended really means. Is it mixing paints on a pallet? Or designing a dish? Is it what you put in or what you leave out?
7/ Less is more. Remember the power of non-action of not-doing. Keep it simple, beautiful and human. Good luck you can do it!
