Corona Reading List: Let’s #KeepTeaching

The valuable professional lesson from COVID-19 for me as an instructional designer is in appreciating the faculty response. At a research 1 institution it may sometimes seem that teaching is not the priority. The collective effort of the past days tells a  different story. Instructors care deeply about the quality of teaching and learning and their connection to the students.

Many educators are worried that as we switch to remote teaching and learning with little preparation time students will be shortchanged. What publications can instructors turn to for sound and accessible hands-on ideas? As we are collectively trying to think through what tools and approaches will resonate with our various audiences, the following open access resources may prove helpful:

• If you have ever been to a talk by Curt Bonk, you’ll know that he never runs out of teaching ideas. The author team Curt Bonk and Elaine Khoo offer a treasure trove of e-teaching techniques that spark curiosity and heighten engagement t in online settings. The TEC Variety book is accessible for free on the web.
• Another great resource is the authentic learning design website and book by Jan Herrington. Her model of authentic learning delineates nine key elements that can be used to support courses and units using authentic e-learning.
• Another book and concept I went back to is “Digital Habitats: Stewarding Technology for Communities” by Etienne Wenger. It is available for free as an ebook, and several work sheets are available for download: http://technologyforcommunities.com/excerpts/
• The response to remote teaching at my own campus is very well orchestrated and supported by overall excellent infrastructure and resources. Not every organization has the same conditions. If you need support in organizing your teaching, Lumen Learning may be a great solution: Live classes may shift to Lumen Waymaker or OHM courseware at no cost for the remainder of the term.
• Stephen Downes created a list of tools that can support collaborative learning online. I have been a student in the MOOC PLENK2010 and can say for a fact that he is a master of orchestrating technologies for learning.
• Tony Bates, author of the open access textbook ‘Teaching in a Digital Age‘ has created a blog post with helpful recommendations.

Please leave comments with other resources you feel are potentially helpful for the wider community – let’s #keepteaching!