GSEHD alumna Whitney Kilgore (certificate, Educational Technology Leadership) co-authored a piece entitled, "How to Build Community through Online Learning" on UniversityBusiness.com.
Whitney Kilgore is the chief academic officer at iDesign.
Per the description:
The piece covers five actions educators can take to keep students motivated and connected in a time of extreme uncertainty in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.
While the article talks primarily about how educators can support students during a difficult time, these tips are also mindsets to help instructors set realistic and kind expectations for themselves. This is an unprecedented crisis with impacts on the well-being of both educators and learners; support, empathy, and kindness for both sides of the classroom experience (learners and teachers) are necessary for either side to thrive.
An excerpt from the article:
“Even under the best circumstances, one of the biggest barriers to making an online course effective with students is the challenge of building communities that maintain social connection even in a digital environment. But this piece is critical. When students are exposed to more engaged peers, it has a direct positive impact on their own performance. […] It could be tempting to focus on content delivery (like getting lecture recording just right), but perfection is so much less important than getting students engaged.”