After MSU went completely online (and I took a week to breathe deeply and make a meaningful plan), I dropped about half of my remaining content for the course along with half of the activities, discussions, etc. that were originally required. 1/

I realized that I had already met *most* of my learning outcomes, and left the lessons that were the most relevant. I also realized that other professors would continue with the same level of content as F2F, and my (gen ed) course shouldn't be their first priority. 2/

I made all online lessons asynchronous and set optional office hours via Zoom. I removed all due dates and told the students they could finish as quickly or as slowly as they wanted, and to just be done by April 24th. 3/

As of last week, only a few had been actively working on class materials. So, I emailed them and said, "I know exactly how many points you need to earn each specific letter grade. Drop me an email and I'll let you know the minimum you need to accomplish to get to A, B, etc." 4/

One of my students emailed me immediately to let me know she had taken extra shifts in the local ER to help out and just needed to be done with class ASAP. So far, 5 students have finished all work and are DONE with my class. 5/

Having said all that, I have a small undergrad class and I know many of you are teaching 200-300 students (or more!). Instructors teaching classes this size may consider emailing everyone and being specific about points needed to get to each grade. 6/

Even though it's probably in the syllabus, it's not always clear in the CMS (esp D2L) how many cumulative points they have, and how many remain in the course to reach those grade levels. 7/

And honestly, this is also a huge benefit to me because now my grading is spread out rather than hitting all at once in the last week of classes. 8/

The one thing that's been difficult about choosing to go asynchronous is that a couple of students have completely disappeared. They didn't answer my emails reaching out, and they haven't logged in yet in April. So I hope they're OK. 9/