I found that posting a "Sunday Note" each week helped everybody, myself included, keep aware of all the components of the course. In my Sunday Notes, I outlined the upcoming week, noting all deadlines, discussion times, office hours, and any other items or events happening in the class.

Students liked this, because it helped them make sure they were on track. I liked this strategy too, because it gave me a chance to keep track of course progress as we moved through the material.

It was a challenge to think about all the different possible student scenarios, but I re-imagined my learning activities to draw on these unique scenarios.

I found that it helped to encourage students to turn on their cameras (without making this a requirement as it is not always possible for every student to do this in their remote environment or social circumstances). Seeing their faces did help me gauge their reactions a bit better. 

Surveying students worked to find out how they were doing with the course material, and with online learning in general.

Dividing the class up for small group discussions using Zoom breakout rooms worked quite well and kept students focused on the material when I gave them specific questions to concentrate on during the group sessions.

I found that it was helpful to reach out directly to students to ask for their feedback. Students acknowledged that we were all adjusting to the online setting together, and liked having input into how the class operated. I used their feedback to modify the course as we progressed through the semester.

To build a stronger connection with my students while teaching online, I used the camera to show them my house, and introduce them to my family, and of course my pets too. This let them see me as a person, and learn a little about who I am by seeing me in my home setting. I also used household items, food from my refrigerator, clothes from my closet, and other typical items for object lessons, to make classes more concrete. Scheduling brief, one-on-one meetings with students also gave them the chance to ask questions they might ordinarily just ask after class, in an in-person setting.

Adding more low-stakes assignments increased student engagement and provided both the instructor and students with instant feedback to better monitor learning. This also allowed the instructor to let students drop low grades or skip some assignments, giving students flexibility to prioritize all the many demands on their time.

I used online polls (Zoom polling, iClickers, Poll Everywhere) to add interactive moments to my lectures, and found that students enjoyed the opportunity to weigh in. Moreover, thinking about the questions asked in the poll raised other questions in their minds, spurring discussion.

I found that encouraging students to use the chat function during my Zoom lectures was a good way to keep them involved in the online setting. My TAs and I put prompts in the chat during the lecture, and students really took an interest in the questions as well as in what their peers were writing. I also worked the questions and responses from the chat into the lecture, explaining related points and clarifying where necessary. I think we learned a lot more in the end than if I had not used the chat function.

Using Hypothes.is, students can annotate readings online in Canvas and respond to each others’ comments. It encourages students to read closely and thoughtfully and can identify areas of common interest or confusion. One instructor participating in the pilot for this learning app reported that discussions were more productive than face-to-face discussions.

I created activities that used Zoom breakout rooms to give students a chance to talk to each other about the course material. This not only helped bring them together to work through ideas with their peers, it also helped spur additional discussion in the course as a whole.

In-video quizzes in Panopto helped students feel engaged in the material presented in online lectures.