We are obviously living in unique and challenging times. The Coronavirus threatens our health and at least for the near future what we regard as normal life. Educators, educational institutions, and learners have been forced into unknown territory which is dominated by uncertainty about what the right thing to do is. Here are a few of my thoughts on this situation.
I was a faculty member at the University of North Dakota in 1997. At about this time of year, the Red River flooded causing the communities of East Grand Forks and Grand Forks to be completely evacuated. The University and schools shut down and we all went somewhere else. By shut down, I mean the semester/school year ended. Grades were awarded based on performance to date. The Internet existed, but was in the early years and there was no thought to using it to provide online education.
I have no idea what the long term consequences of the closing of the university and schools were, but in thinking about my personal experiences I think it fair to say what I learned from that experience and the aftermath taught me and my students things that were more useful than what we would have learned in those extra two months of time in the classroom. I even learned a great deal about technology which was and still is my personal expertise. My wife and I immediately had to use technology in different ways because of our situation. Lesson 1: all learning does not happen in classrooms and anyone open to learning will benefit from unique life experiences.
So, we now have computers and the Internet. We have a way to extend the formal learning situation when circumstances require. We are not all equally experienced in using this technology in the situation we have now encountered. Is our lack of experience a crisis? Well, I do believe there are better and poorer ways to use technology. My background requires that I say this. I don’t pretend to be an expert in online learning although I have taught many online classes. I have taught a specific type of class and when I honest I would admit I would have limited insight into how to teach even other types of courses I taught face to face. What would I do with my 200 student Introduction to Psychology class? What would the experts suggest? I am not sure.
Here is what I think about learning in general. It is important to remember that learning is done by the learners. As an educator, you facilitate and support and for some practical reasons evaluate. Motivated learners with access to information (life experiences to analyze, books to read, videos to watch) and the willing to think about this information will learn. Educators can encourage thinking experiences in various ways to improve the odds, but to become overly concerned about what these experiences should or might be creates unnecessary anxiety. I am not saying what teachers do is irrelevant. Of course, we do important work. However, it is the work of the learner that is most important.
Some related ideas: a) be honest with students. If you are unsure of how best to go about online instruction, just say so. Explain the situation as a way for both you and your students to explore the challenge of learning together. B) Be available even if it is only through email. How you connect is probably less important than your commitment to using something. If you check your email once in the morning and once at the end of the day, this will not be nearly enough. C) If the situation you are now in is not the situation you probably will be in next year, don’t make things too complicated now? Don’t try too many things that you lack experiences applying. It is always important to push yourself and your learners a bit, but don’t create a situation that could completely break down should you encounter unforeseen consequences. D) Experts will want to help. I have plenty of content to offer. Don’t be offended and don’t feel pressured. Under normal circumstances, educators who are unwilling to adopt the opportunities offered by technology irritate me. However, a short term and a long term issue are different. E) Be understanding. Present situations introduce demands and threats that will be new and frankly more important than what happens throughout the rest of the semester. You can return to being hard core next semester.
