Hi HP!

I'm beginning my new semester on Monday, with Google Classroom - which I've never used to teach before. I've also never had to teach synchronously five days a week....

So what I would like to hear from you guys that have taken online classes, both before covid and during, what were some aspects of your online class you did and did not like?

I want to make this as painless as possible lol thanks in advance!

I did self directed learning for schooling for 6 years post secondary - online.

So from a students perspective:

The biggest issue was motivation for me - as it was self directed deadlines were not specific and I fell behind.  Clear and concise guidelines for projects and expectations help a TON

I'm so type A as a teacher hahaha I plan on putting out a rubric of things in steps - so like if you want a 5/5 then these elements should be in your project - something like that.

I'm not allowed to teach asynchronously, so we will be video conferencing five days a week and I'm just not sure how motivated people will be to do that, or how to help them feel excited to sit in front of their computer with cams and mics on every day :/

Slight back story: I went back to college in the beginning of 2019-- I completed my associated at the end of 2019 and am currently in the last full term with an outlook of completing my bachelors in June of this year. I've done everything online due to the fact that I work full time! So, from another student perspective:

- Clear and concise deadlines (as NEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE pointed out) are crucial to my well being. Being able to plan out my full quarter (we are on an 8 week program instead of a semester) is essential to ensure I can complete everything on such a tight timeframe. Rubrics are my best friend!

- Professors are fairly hit/miss on feedback for assignments and discussion posts. I so appreciate the ones that take their time to respond to students within the discussion boards as well as papers. The most frustrating courses were the ones where I felt like I was 100% teaching myself (which, online courses do require a majority of that let's be honest)-- but I remember seeing a post or two were it was clear that the student was not grasping the subject and the professor never responded. 

- As far as keeping students motivated:  My program and university does not incorporate video conferencing but we communicate through email, instant message, discussion boards, and occasional phone calls.  My most favorite courses have been the ones where my professor is clearly passionate about the subject and isn't just there to collect a paycheck. Responding to emails with 24 hours, engaging and asking further questions is something I have very much appreciated.  

Thank you for your input Lacey! Google classroom is what I'm going to be using because the university is so small it doesn't have service moodle or blackboard. I'm choosing it for a multiple of reasons, but one of them being that it has a comment interface kind of like Facebook which I think will greatly facilitate discussion. I do intend to give feedback, I would hate for my students to be thrown to the wolves learning a new language!

*bump*

Thanks mame! I typically upload documents right before class, so that they have it while I'm teaching and if internet poofs....they aren't totally lost when coming back in.

I'm thinking of doing like a quarterly survey as a check in too!