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Having taught a semester online, I think you can do really good teaching online, but you need a few things: 1) Small class sizes. Mine was under 15. Otherwise,
by pwthornton 6y ago
Having taught a semester online, I think you can do really good teaching online, but you need a few things:
1) Small class sizes. Mine was under 15. Otherwise, very little discussion happens
2) A lot of work & learning assigned outside of class
3) Time each class for sub-groups
I do think they will have to adjust the tuition. It is hard to justify paying 60k or whatever Harvard charges for online education. It is objectively much, much cheaper to deliver.
Schools will need to invest in a lot more online tools and training, however.
I don't understand how larger class sizes will happen, unless they are going completely lecture.
The other thing I did with my small class was set up a Slack channel. I was available daily to chat about whatever and give feedback and work through concepts.
I spent a tremendous amount of time chatting with students on Zoom and Slack inbetween classes when I taught online last semester.
The idea that good online teaching is just like some free MOOC is not reality-based. It needs to be very hands-on.
- screye 6y agoMy friend just did a full course load remote summer semester it was significantly more taxing. Group study is harder. Keeping attention in class is harder. Having your eyes stuck to a screen the whole day is harder. > The idea that good online teaching is just like some free MOOC is not reality-based. It needs to be very hands-on. Kudos to you. From what I've seen, online courses continue to be MOOC-esque or even worse. At least MOOCs have mature systems in place that facilitate learning through their system, however inefficient.
- ksml 6y agoI had a very similar experience teaching a class of 23, including the Slack, which students found very helpful. I was also a student in a class of 60 and quality of discussion suffered, although I'm not sure it's 100% because of the online format (I think the instructors could have done a better job facilitating discussion)