Moving Online

We are not in ordinary times. We are in an unfamiliar setting and I believe it is important to support one another, protect one another and understand the role we can play to help move us beyond of this situation. Our Mom was great in situations that were unprecedented. She would jump in with what skills and knowledge she had and always found a way to help. So, in the spirit of our late Mother, I have been trying to think – how can I help!

What has come to mind is that fact that I have spent the last few years teaching, almost exclusively, online. In that time, I have had some highs and lows. Now, since so many of my colleagues and friends are abruptly moving from a face to face setting to an online setting, I thought I would offer a few things that have worked for me. While my experience has been with teaching, these tips can help for anyone moving to an online platform.  So, here are the lessons I learned from making mistakes online.

Have a Schedule and Priority List.

I found myself at the end of the night wondering, what have I done today? As a result, I felt more pressure and I would feel more stress. So, I set a schedule and a priority list. The priority list helped to fuel my schedule each day. Each evening, I try to review what needs to be done the next day. The “need to get done” tasks are based on an excel sheet that lists all my priorities/goals (happy to share it with anyone) under which I record all the things I need to do to achieve my goals and try to keep the focus on my real priorities.

Communicate

You need to be in communication with people. When you are not face to face and students do not get to hear details about assignments, tests or quizzes from their friends in the hall or at the end of class, they will be looking to you for details. It requires writing what you think you want to say, reading it to see what assumptions of knowledge you have made in your writing and then considering if you need to tweak it at all.

Reach out to someone.

One of the things that I found hard was not having the interaction with students and colleagues. As a person that derives energy from others, it was hard not to have that contact. To help, I made it a point to reach out to people. Every other day, I check in with someone or ensure I write (email, handwritten card or text) someone. It gives me time to think about someone else.

Reaching out is also important when you need help. You will be doing something you have never done before in a time when there is a lot of unknown factors. You will be to get help or perhaps just vent – so reach out when you need it.

You do not have to know everything.

You are an expert in your field of study and no one expects you to be an expert in IT (unless that is your field). Remember this point and do not stress over what you do not know. Have resources for students to turn to (helplines/instructions). And when, not if, when you make mistakes, let the students know what happened and move on from it. Again – No one knows everything.

Be Prepared. 

Things may and probably will go wrong. With so many Universities moving online in such a short period of time, there are going to be issues. Make a backup plan. Let students know that if there is a problem that you will work with them. Students are going to be stressed and the more you can help mitigate that stress by supporting them, the better we will all be.

The above are what I have encountered, I welcome any of my colleagues or friends to add to the list in the comment section.

Stay aware of your actions, we all have to be conscious of our roles – Be well.