Shifting from teaching in an environment with tables and chairs to screens, microphones, and cameras can be overwhelming. In this presentation, I will describe my process and how I adapted a literacy methods course to support distance learners.
Students in the Eugene undergraduate BEd program hail from Lane and Douglas Counties. For students living in Douglas County, the drive to Eugene can take over an hour. The current cohort entered the program with the understanding that they would not have to commute to Eugene for their classes. This led to the challenge of how to best support students across the two counties in an equitable way. In this presentation, I will discuss how I shifted from a face-to-face, weekly, 4-hour course to an online asynchronous course to support distance learners in an online setting. I will describe the students in the course, the purpose of providing online access, and the way in which I modified course content and assignments to ensure our time online was well-spent and meaningful for the students’ learning. I will also describe what I learned about online teaching and modifications I will make for upcoming asynchronous classes. There is more to teaching and learning online than just a screen, microphone and camera.