Real Time Insights from #AcademicTwitter

We're seeing some success cases in case teaching. Tips:
– Treat it like you would a normal case
– Ask qns, get responses
– Ignore the group chat except when you say you will look at it
– Use polls and breakout rooms
– Prep blank Word docs to use as white boards for difft points

— Anirban Mukhopadhyay (@nomologic) March 25, 2020

Discussions are tricky. I like to keep the class together, but have started mocking up my board plan for cases/discussions in advance, and then using text annotation to fill in the columns as we work through the discussion. Here's an example from a PhD methods class yesterday. pic.twitter.com/92mj8cHjnr

— Carey Morewedge (@morewedge) March 25, 2020

Also, a virtual "laser pointer," such as logitech spotlight, may become handy. It is essentially a mouse with the cursor in a specific shape, allowing students to see it virtually. It can also highlight / zoom in a specific part of the slide.

— Song Yao (@songyao) March 25, 2020

I'm not approaching this like a regular online course. I'm approaching it like an online course marked by much higher levels of student anxiety. I hope professors recognize and account for this difference. More communication. More flexibility. More simplification. https://t.co/MOUYkHG6sy

— Dr. Scott Cowley (@scottcowley) March 13, 2020

Academic peeps: I've lived through many disasters. Here is my advice on "productivity". First, play the long game. Your peers who are trying to work as normal right now are going to burn out fast. They're doomed. Make a plan with a longer vision. /1

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

Third, any work that can be simplified, minimized, and flushed: FLUSH IT. Don't design a fancy new online course. It will suck & you will burn out. Choose the simplest solution for you & your students, with min admin. Focus on getting students feeling empowered & engaged. /3

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

Fifth, AFTER you experience the mental shift, build a schedule. Make a routine. Put it on a weekly calendar with time blocks. Wake up early. Put the most important parts first: food, family, fitness. Priority 1 is a stable home. Then add windows for achievable work goals. /5

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

It's unreasonable to demand your body & brain do the same things under higher stress conditions. Some people can write in a war zone. I cannot. I wait until I get back. But I can do other really useful things under high stress conditions. Support your continuing mental shift. /7

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

And finally, we can check on our neighbours, reach out to isolated people, and volunteer or donate as we can. Because at the end of the day, our papers can wait.

— Dr Aisha Ahmad (@ProfAishaAhmad) March 18, 2020

The transition to online learning is like the tide going out and revealing what (and who) educators are really optimizing for. I've seen all of these happening in our college.
(1/7)

— Dr. Scott Cowley (@scottcowley) April 14, 2020

2. Professors optimizing for non-teaching life (research, etc.) tend to go AWOL and assign readings or distribute slides, but minimize the amount of communication or new material they have to create. They may drop class requirements, but leave students feeling abandoned.

— Dr. Scott Cowley (@scottcowley) April 14, 2020

4. Professors optimizing for student emotional well-being end up dropping a lot of course content and requirements while upping the casual and pandemic-related communication and check-ins with students. Students tend to like this, but some feel shortchanged.

— Dr. Scott Cowley (@scottcowley) April 14, 2020

I'm not going to shame educators for how they handle things (except the ones who impose more work–nobody likes you), but I do think we have a unique opportunity to learn how to be a better version of "adaptable" by looking at the actions generated by our underlying values. (7/7)

— Dr. Scott Cowley (@scottcowley) April 14, 2020

Academics who had to teach online via Zoom (or likes) last semester:

What did you find to be the key to successful teaching?

What mistakes would you avoid?#Teachingintimeofcovid

— Pinar Yildirim (@Prof_Yildirim) June 9, 2020

This is exactly how I have used group chat in videoconference classes in the past. Students don't have to interrupt you and I've always been amazed at how students naturally answer each other's clarification questions. https://t.co/FYmjcN7MhG

— Elea McDonnell Feit (@eleafeit) March 25, 2020

We've been trying out a few things. One of the most obvious is setting a strong norm to turn the camera ON.

Another we are working on is encouraging using Zoom for not-technically work. We have just started a daily 30min "remote co-working" session, which is primarily social.

— Erik Thulin (@EThulin) March 14, 2020

The importance of PSA ads is on the rise and a great deal is riding on their effectiveness https://t.co/VMHkIoH9Zo

— Beth Fossen (@beth_fossen) March 26, 2020

"There are at least three factors driving our response – #scarcity, social proof, and regaining a sense of control. It’s scary how strong these influences are on our behaviour." https://t.co/ZSXnczAwuk #panicbuying

— Prof. Caroline Roux (@RouxCaroline) March 16, 2020

Some positive examples of Coronoavirus positive brand messages – #SMProfs https://t.co/R6Mn5jSyxJ #SMProfs

— Caroline Munoz #DMProfs #DIGMARUNG (@carriemunoz) March 23, 2020

Not to throw fuel onto Twitter, but Stata sent me a COVID-19 email and R didn’t.

— Jonathan A. Parker (@ProfJAParker) March 20, 2020