Error! Error!

We teachers have been told for quite a long time that we should digitalise more of our teaching and transfer most or all of it online. It’s easy – just use this or that software, these digital platforms, a heaped measure of virtual learning environments, a pinch of apps, a dash of doctrines. Sprinkle with a helping of livestreams, top with video recordings from cloud servers, oh except wait a minute, you mustn’t forget subtitles or else remove the videos quickly. “I can’t open the file,” “The video doesn’t work,” “Why can’t I hear a thing,” “Unable to access the site.” Error, error. Tyger! Tyger! burning bright...

A dash of doctrines? They have indeed been flooding through doors and windows with the onset of the COVID19 pandemic. Best practices, good models, check these five ways to improve your online teaching, read these ninety-five online theses hammered onto the door of the cathedral of virtualities, hey does your student plagiarise or cheat in online exams, here’s an algorithm for you; here’s a proctoring service for you. Catch those who in your mandatory livestreamed sessions don’t really follow the stream at all. - Excuse me?

This is not the kind of teaching career I signed up for.

What is it that I am doing, as an online teacher? Why? What kind of values am I passing on and communicating with my choices and my actions, in both online and on-ground courses?

I whole-heartedly belong to the school of thought contending that fully online and blended pedagogies require more than just putting an on-ground course online. A different approach and mindset are required. Most of all, human touch is required.

Based on my personal experience, I believe that, after any length of career in on-ground teaching, becoming a fully online teacher requires a foundational transformation of one’s professional identity. 

Photo by Steven Wright on Unsplash

 

To me, this is the only way to ensure that

a) both the teachers and the students gain meaningful experiences in their learning processes, and thus reach good and lasting learning outcomes;

b) the teachers’ well-being at work and overall well-being increase;

c) the students’ study well-being and overall well-being increase.

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Recommended reading:

Radical Hope. A Teaching Manifesto. Gannon, K.M. 2020. West Virginia University Press.