during #EarthER20 workshop this week, someone shared 'The Minimum Viable Course' idea (e.g. https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/explore-teaching-guides/getting-started/minimum-viable-course)

in this era especially, a course that is 'whole' and stays focused on a small number of key learning goals is better than an overly complex one trying to do a lot

if you are overwhelmed w/ the task of converting your course for online/virtual format, it might be appropriate to 'redesign' it to stay laser-focused on a few themes — I'm embracing the notion of simplifying and removing extraneous content/assignments

the next ~year is going to be stressful & difficult — I'm going to try to provide students the key concepts/skills and a robust foundation by stripping away embellishments — plus, students will have plenty of other courses/instructors that forge ahead as if we weren't in a crisis