by Mitchell Riel

At this point in our remote teaching experience I’m sure that a vast majority of instructors would agree that remote instruction is dramatically different than in person instruction. As a result of this, formulating and implementing successful and effective pedagogical decisions into our remote teaching practice has often been a difficult task to successfully complete, as we may have been unable to have developed the perfect pedagogical strategy on the first try. While this endeavor may be difficult, it can be seen that this process is extremely important, not just in terms of the success of the instructor, but the student’s success as well. Specifically, having instructors get particularly comfortable with the online resources and making their course feel unique and purposeful are particularly important goals, as evidenced throughout the second chapter of Foundational Practices of Online Writing Instruction. 

While it may seem convenient to retrofit assignments, in class discussions, and other in-person activities into the online space, completely developing new, succinct and comprehensive methods and activities for achieving the same goal(s) provide much more value, as evidenced by the following. “This distinction of face-time may seem elementary, but it is essential. Educators need to understand hybrid and fully online course settings as unique because, from a design perspective, no instructional setting should be understood as so much a version or variation of another that the job of the instructional designer or teacher is simply to migrate learning materials from one setting to the other.” (Depew, Kevin Eric, Hewett, Beth, Foundational Practices of Online Writing Instruction). The text continues, indicating “The notion of adaptation is crucial to understanding the practicality behind OWI. Even where basic pedagogies can be applied across instructional settings, they invariably will need to be adapted to suit the new context.” (Depew, Kevin Eric, Hewett, Beth, Foundational Practices of Online Writing Instruction). It’s with this thinking in mind that I’ve sought to personalize, get familiar with, and restructure more traditional in-person content as a means to better appeal to the students in our new remote modality. Including visual aids in lectures, directly referencing/walking through helpful websites and resources, and otherwise taking advantage of instantaneous access to infinite numbers of helpful online resources have all been implemented into class meetings, all with varying degrees of success. While certain activities I’ve tried have been more effective than others, having the understanding of the material from a foundational level, as opposed to implementing retrofitted assignments, has proven invaluable thus far. 

Having the understanding of your content on a foundational level additionally alleviate some stress on behalf of not only the professor, but the students as well. Specifically, this is due to the fact that instructors will have a comprehensive understanding of their material after spending time constructing it, additionally, they will be less likely to be confused, agitated, or otherwise stressed when problems arise from the perspective of the student, as they will be able to swiftly remedy the issue. Support of this notion can be seen throughout the following from Foundational Practices of Online Writing. “Students might enroll in a fully online OWC (online writing course), but if they need additional instructional or research support, or if they have basic IT issues, a trip to campus might be required. Such a campus visit can be impossible for some students; a lack of online support limits reasonable access to such resources.” (Depew, Kevin Eric, Hewett, Beth, Foundational Practices of Online Writing Instruction) By having a complete understanding of the coursework itself, the professor may be able to better assist with these issues, both on a content level, and technical level, provided the technical issue directly pertains to a program or resource that’s utilized throughout the course. Not only does this alleviate headaches and stress throughout the semester, this ability to assist students, in conjunction with the improved content, should allow for a more intuitive, accessible learning experience. 

While we may often look at in person and remote writing instruction as being diametrically opposed, we must understand that both share “uniqueness in common”, in that, “it is important to think about each setting as its own, free-standing learning model.” (Depew, Kevin Eric, Hewett, Beth, Foundational Practices of Online Writing Instruction). It is because of this uniqueness that we must take the time to comprehensively develop our activities and methods “from the ground up”, and heavily personalize materials that have to be taught, regardless of modality, as a means to ensure comprehension and ease of interaction. Haphazardly and halfheartedly developing materials will only cause confusion and difficulty understanding course content for both the professor and the students.