My first online course has now finished.
So here are my preliminary conclusions.

1 It worked!https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✅" title="Fettes weißes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes weißes Häkchen">
2 Asynchronous lecture materialhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✅" title="Fettes weißes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes weißes Häkchen">
3 Some synchronous sessions (virtual office hours)https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✅" title="Fettes weißes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes weißes Häkchen">
4 Have everything ready before you start, if possible.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✅" title="Fettes weißes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes weißes Häkchen">
5 Encourage student discussion https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✅" title="Fettes weißes Häkchen" aria-label="Emoji: Fettes weißes Häkchen">

Don& #39;t underestimate the time it takes.

Record lectures in short-ish chunks, maybe 10-15 minutes.

Have plenty of exercises for student reflection (I used low stakes quizzes)

Have summative milestones, so students can measure their progress. (I used a quiz after each topic)

Introduce an element or theme to keep students engaged. #MontyTheDoodle featured in several quiz/assignment questions, and on the course banner, which changed weekly.

Have an explicitly stated policy on assignment extensions.

Mine: "This is an emergency situation, if you need a time extension, just ask. No explanation needed".

I found that a lot of students
a) Needed time extensions
b) Wanted to tell me why. I was someone to talk to.

Whilst I love doing live teaching, the risks of doing so at the moment make this unacceptable.

Online teaching can still be a rewarding experience https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙂" title="Leicht lächelndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Leicht lächelndes Gesicht">

I thought that my recorded lectures wouldn& #39;t be as engaging as my live performances (which have a certain adrenaline-filled energy).https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😄" title="Lächelndes Gesicht mit geöffnetem Mund und lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Lächelndes Gesicht mit geöffnetem Mund und lächelnden Augen">

I got the same positive feedback about engagement that I usually do.

Don& #39;t listen to your own lectures. I hate the sound of my own voice.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤪" title="Zany face" aria-label="Emoji: Zany face">

Resist the temptation to rerecord lectures to make them perfect.

You don& #39;t have time for that.

A live lecture is rarely perfect!

If anyone wants a chat about this, I& #39;m happy to do so.

I did a seminar "Welcome To My Online Classroom " at Carleton, so I have prepared material.

Here& #39;s the thread written in a blog article. https://www.precariousphysicist.com/post/reflections">https://www.precariousphysicist.com/post/refl...