12 March, 2020 – The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that universities are making fast decisions about how to keep students and staff safe while keeping instruction going. Some universities have restricted or eliminated public events and others have closed their dorms and moved all instruction online for the remainder of the term. For courses that already are online or are hybrid, moving (or staying) online is a breeze. But for humanities courses that are face-to-face, switching gears in the middle of the term introduces a high-level of stress for professors who were expecting to walk into—not sign into—their classroom.

Many humanities courses employ the Socratic Method—a deliberative model that relies on dialogue among individuals and in-the-moment questions and answers to stimulate critical thought. Moving online, however, can introduce worries about diminished course outcomes and students losing out on necessary communication skills with their interlocutors.

There are several strategies you can employ with your (now online) course to approximate the feelings of community, goodwill, and intellectual engagement that you nurture in the physical classroom.

1. Don’t assume students have steady access to the internet. Students don’t just rely on the university library and infrastructure for printing and studying. For many, the university may be the only place where they have steady, strong WiFi—not to mention updated and functioning computers. Assignments that require extensive internet research may need to be redesigned to allow students to rely more heavily on the existing books and classroom materials for their final papers and projects.
2. Be available. Your students are freaking out. They’re worried about getting sick. Many may be worried about loss of income from work study or from moving out at short notice. They will be worried about how moving online will impact their performance and grades. Definitely don’t spam them but do post announcements to the course; check in with individual students by email to see how they’re doing.
3. Create clear expectations for online discussions. Online, there is no back of the classroom. In order for students to gain credit, they have to speak up. Online discussions require clear guidelines as to what is acceptable netiquette. Consider writing a detailed rubric with word limits and clear instructions on how many posts and responses are needed to receive full credit.
4. Show up to discussions. Show students you’re as interested in the conversation online as you are in class. Writing a short response on a select few posts that indicate which responses are stellar (and which ones need work) will show students what you expect.
5. Embrace asynchronicity. While you can hold a live class session using a video conferencing software, like Zoom or Duo, or live office hours after students watch your recorded lectures, consider having class sessions that don’t require everyone to be in the same space at the same time. This is especially important for those students who are now accessing your class in an environment that is loud, hectic, or otherwise distracting. Relatedly, if you’re going to record videos, chunk them into topics so videos are between 5 and 7 minutes long. Attention spans top out at about 5 minutes, but let’s be real: it takes some of us 5 minutes just to get warmed up! Just don’t post an hour-long lecture.
6. Use the online gradebook. Horror stories about grades and assignments being “eaten” by an LMS exist because they happen (Been there. Still looking for those grades). Emailing students grades not only creates a potential FERPA issue, it also increases the chance that you’ll miss student responses to your comments amid the avalanche of messages you receive on a daily basis. LMSes are constantly updating: use their tools to keep track of grades, grade small assessments automatically, and to sort, save, and filter student responses.
7. Get creative with how students show competency. We take note of our students’ strengths and weaknesses every time we walk into the classroom. J. isn’t a strong writer but commands respect from their peers during group work. C. is painfully shy but as poetic as Aeschylus in their papers. P. is a class clown but asks probing questions during lecture. Consider creating opportunities for students to illustrate competency and application of course concepts outside of written assessments or annotated bibliographies that can be done individually or in groups, such as:
   • Creating a scavenger hunt using course materials
   • Designing a game for high school students
   • Designing an academic conference featuring authors from the course as keynote or plenary speakers
   • Producing a photo essay illustrating their interpretation of course concepts
   • Solving a local, state, or national problem using a theme covered in course discussions

Moving online in the middle of the term is incredibly disruptive but it doesn’t mean that your class won’t be effective. Rethinking small aspects of the course can have a big, positive impact on how you communicate and connect with your students. Above all, be kind to yourself if the course doesn’t come out the way you’d hoped. These are difficult times and showing compassion to you and your students should be paramount. ~ Kim Singletary