By David Moloney.
Reading Time: ~3 minutes.
Featured Image Source: Woman studying online course by uthen.smantai58452 on Vecteezy. Adapted by post author.
In this post:
1. A Time to Reflect
In this post we want to provide you, the reader, with an opportunity to give your feedback on this autumn semester's 'Quick Tips for Teaching Online' blog series in order to inform the future direction for the blog and to find out what topics you would like to be addressed in future posts. The LTF would also like to open up the blog series to staff who teach in UL with an invitation to contribute a future post or success story from your own online teaching practice. Read on to find out more.
The autumn semester has been a trying one. The world has been a complex environment to navigate and operate in, no less so, our small corner of it within Irish higher education. We have all adapted significantly to our unfamiliar surroundings and there is huge credit due to staff for the care that has been shown throughout to colleagues and students.
Amidst the struggles we've experienced, encountered or heard about, try to take a moment to remember the positives. It's important to remind ourselves that just over 1 year ago, pre-crisis, when the Irish National Digital Experience (INDEx) survey ran at the end of November 2019, almost 2/3’s of ULs staff survey respondents had never taught live online before. Things have changed dramatically.
2019 UL INDEx Staff Survey response to Q.15.2 'Teach live online'. 64% of UL staff had not taught live online before.
At this time of year as we approach the final week of term, it's always good to take stock and to reflect on what you have achieved and what you have learned. What changes have you made to your practice that you feel have been a success? Will you endeavour to keep these changes or perhaps even build further upon them? Perhaps there are some things that you will need to remedy for next semester, things that may not have gone according to plan this time around. The EDTL Approach for Staff might be a good place to begin again and to use as a soundboard to reflect against.
2. Your Feedback & An Invitation to Contribute (UL Staff only)
All semester you have heard from us in the form of posts to this blog series. Now, we'd like the opportunity to hear from you.
'Quick Tips for Teaching Online' will return again in the spring semester. If you are a member of staff who teaches at UL, the series is predominantly geared towards you. We have received some unsolicited positive feedback throughout this semester and are eager to build on this. In this quick feedback form, tell us what you think of the 'Quick Tips for Teaching Online' series to date and help us to improve it to best meet your needs.
The quick form has 2 sections and should take no longer than 5 minutes to fill in. Click the link on the image below to access it.
- Section 1 offers you the opportunity to give your feedback on this autumn semester's 'Quick Tips for Teaching Online' blog series in order to inform the future direction for the blog and to find out what topics you would like to be addressed in future posts.
- Section 2 is an invitation to contribute. The LTF would like to open up the blog series to staff who teach in UL with an invitation to contribute a future post or success story from your own online teaching practice. Express your interest using this form.
Please Note:
- The form does not automatically record your name. Your feedback is anonymous.
- However, signing up to contribute a future post in Section 2 does involve submitting your UL email address with your feedback response.
- It is possible for you to submit to the feedback form more than once. If you would like to preserve your anonymity and also sign up to contribute a future post to the series, you can submit your feedback in one form response and then subsequently submit a second form response to express interest in contributing a future post to the series.
3. A Word of Thanks
This is the final post in the 'Quick Tips for Teaching Online' series this autumn semester 2020. A sincere thank you to all contributors to the series this semester (see all series posts this semester here). Without you this initiative would not happen. We'd also like to thank you, the readers, for being a part of this shared journey with us. Please continue to increase awareness of the series within your own faculties and areas across the University and have your say about what should be addressed in the blog series.
As we all look ahead and prepare to launch the spring semester 2021 with a similar academic model to this semester, we recognise that it will be the third semester in a row where digital will be a core element of our teaching and learning approaches. You are now all better informed and more aware than in the previous semesters about what works well and what perhaps hasn't worked so well in your respective contexts, for both you and for your students.
Take care, Merry Christmas to you and yours, and thanks for reading!
