In an effort to minimize the transmission of COVID-19 through physical distancing, the University of Toronto cancelled in-class courses on March 16 and directed instructors to move their teaching online.
With support from U of T Engineering’s Education Technology Office, instructors quickly leveraged the digital resources available to pivot to online delivery and continue engaging their students through the rest of the semester.
Writer Fahad Pinto checked in with a few professors across the Faculty to share tips and their own lessons learned from navigating the transition to teaching online.
The “show” (lecture) must go on!
On my screen are 63 students…you just can’t see them..
A big shout out to the @fase_eto for your proactive efforts helping us get this BB collaborate show on the road #UofT #teachingbyothermeans @uoftengineering #SocialDistancing #showmustgoon pic.twitter.com/yyANwaL8kW— Elham Marzi (@Saltshaker_em) March 16, 2020
Share and learn with your colleagues
“I’ve found that there is an abundance of help and support when it comes to adapting,” says Professor Elham Marzi (ISTEP). “We’re all trying and learning as we go along. My colleagues and I share our experiences with each other as we make the best of these changes.”
Marzi prioritizes student inclusion and engagement through active learning. She has moved to teaching digitally via Blackboard Collaborate, a virtual classroom integrated within the university’s Quercus online learning portal. “All students have access through Quercus. And a recording of the lecture is available for any student who may have missed the session.”
She has noticed a spike in student participation, as students engage through chats, polls and survey check-ins. “My tip is to use the tools on the platform to encourage active learning. Let the students speak up in different ways. And have fun!”
Simplicity and flexibility are key
“Keeping our instructions clear and simple plays a huge part in minimizing student confusion during this transition,” says Professor Chirag Variawa (ISTEP). “Our first-year students made the transition from high-school to university, and the move to online learning is yet another transition. This opens up a world of unique possibilities.”
He offers students in his first-year course, APS106 Fundamentals of Computer Programming, the complete roster of all available lectures, tutorials, and labs, allowing them to choose a date, time and instructor that works with their way of learning. Students are still able to receive one-on-one support with teaching assistants through drop-in online tutorial sessions.
“Moving to the online space can take away the immediacy of answering questions as we would in class. So we leverage our online platforms and push to answer student questions within 15 minutes. This average includes evenings and weekends for a course with around 500 students.”
Variawa and his team are now piloting video explainers on their APS106 YouTube channel to simplify concepts and further motivate his students. “We’re supplementing regular course instruction with videos that summarize key points, and introduce concepts in engaging, informative, and entertaining ways. We get creative and have fun explaining computer programming using memes, cats and even ‘Napoleon Dynamite.’”
VIDEO:
CivMin’s Prof David Taylor begins an online lecture for his CIV340 Municipal Engineering class on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Online classes continue to be offered at UofT while we practice social distancing.
For more info: https://t.co/M5bJawUQxd@uoft @uoftengineering pic.twitter.com/KtpOwiiK3L— CivMin at U of T (@civmin) March 17, 2020
Learn from your students — they’re a great resource
Professor David Taylor (CivMin) launched his first lecture using two chalkboards and a webcam to stream over Blackboard Collaborate. His teaching assistant managed the chat log online as Taylor delivered the lesson.
“Students are really engaging in discussion through the online chat feature,” he says. “Perhaps it’s because they are very comfortable with texting each other over their phones. I’ve noticed some students who may typically not raise their hand in class are more vocal online.”
Taylor is now delivering his lessons from home over his tablet. “It’s a challenge not to see my students’ faces. But the students are super gracious through the adjustment. They are happy to give me technical advice as they are more familiar with some of these technologies than me. And thankfully there are lots of thumbs up emojis.”
Watch ESC102 20201 Lecture 31 — 2020-03-23 [2/2] from Prof_Jason_Foster on www.twitch.tv
Explore new platforms, learn new skills and integrate new technologies
Online course instruction is not new to Professor Jason Foster (EngSci) and his team. Over the years they have tested numerous ideas in delivering the first-year engineering design course, including screencasts, small-scale streaming, trouble tickets, instant messaging and chatbots.
“We have a habit of not leaving well enough alone and continue to try new things,” says Foster. “Sometimes it turns out we are ahead of the curve and should have waited. But we keep innovating. We teach engineering design – it’s ingrained into our thinking.”
When Foster explored an external platform to broadcast lectures to a class of about 300, a number of students recommended he try Twitch, the streaming website popular with video gamers.
“The first lecture was something of an adventure. The lecture was public and some people from outside of the class showed up virtually. But overall the quality was excellent and there weren’t any issues of scale.”
Foster sees benefits to using tools and services, such as Twitch, that may be familiar with students and that they will encounter outside of the university setting. Designed predominantly to broadcast video, many of the platforms also offer more technical capabilities, such as integrating multiple audio and video sources simultaneously.
One of the sources he has been able to integrate is Blackboard Collaborate, allowing him to merge the familiar with the innovative. While this while new technology may bring complexity, Foster looks at it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
“Since this is a design course, the students see how we’re practicing what we teach through rapid iteration, informed decision making, and a lot of stakeholder interaction. It’s also fun as we gain some ‘street cred’ with our students.”
The team is currently exploring the effectiveness of posting videos on Chinese video sharing website bilibili, to increase accessibility for students in the course who are currently in China.
