Recently messaging went out to Fulton Schools faculty with regards to summer expectations regarding Remote Synchronous and Remote Hybrid (Synchronous/Asynchronous) instruction. Synchronous teaching and learning happens in real time whereas asynchronous teaching and learning occurs on a more flexible schedule. Many of our faculty have used a combination of the two over the past few months. As we head into summer, and subsequently fall, we have a great opportunity to plan and deliver courses using the strengths of both modes.
Some key points to consider in your planning for BOTH synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning are:
- Communicate clearly, frequently and in a timely manner. Establish preferred methods of contact as well as how/when students can expect a response. No need to use every tool, just develop a consistent and workable plan for you and your students. (ex. Email, Slack, Zoom, Canvas Announcements)
- Foster engagement opportunities both synchronously and asynchronously:
- Between you and the students (ex. Office hours, surveys during Zoom class sessions)
- Among the students (ex. Piazza, Zoom Breakout Rooms)
- Create intuitive course navigation. If students have limited time with you, it is extremely helpful to limit your navigation to key items and to chunk your course to form intuitive paths (ex. Using modules, deleting unused navigation items).
If you are planning to increase the asynchronous elements of your course, you will also want to:
- Establish Instructor Presence. Find ways to infuse your personality and approachability into the course. (ex. Weekly video announcements, current profile picture in Canvas)
- Purposefully consider how students will interact with the content when you are not there to guide them. Are your instructions clear? Have you provided tutorials for any tools they may need to use? How will students submit their work? (ex. Playposit for embedded questions in lecture videos, file upload assignment in Canvas)
Additional Resources:
- Fulton Schools Remote Teaching FAQ Site
- Provost’s Teaching Remotely Toolkit
- EdPlus Design for Online Toolkit
Questions? Wanting to figure out a new way to infuse some of the above into your upcoming courses? Feel free to reach out to us via:
- Email: fse-canvas@asu.edu
- Slack Channel: fse-teaching-and-learning
