I sent pre-term surveys to students asking them about tech needs, access, hopes, and concerns for this autumn. There seems to be a narrative that students are clamoring for live/synchronous classes yet their responses overwhelmingly demonstrate this simply isn't true.

In many cases, live courses are a source of anxiety: students are having to work extra jobs, care-take for family members, living internationally, or are otherwise in an environment that makes live sessions impossible.

More than half voiced concerns about being made to attend "live"/synchronous classes and being penalized for not doing so despite their desire to be engaged in courses. Many of my international students are sharing stories of having compulsory classes at 2, 3, 4 a.m.

Reaching out to your students now will help you build classes that meet your students literally where they are; students simply won't be working the same ways they do when they are on campus. Our classes must reflect this reality too.

At its core, questions of live versus asynchronous content and punitive measures that privilege students in certain timezones, socioeconomic brackets, or caregiving roles are ones about equity and access.

Many of us prefer live classes because asynchronous classes are far more labor-intensive to create than turning on my zoom for a few hours each week. But the payoff is that you have a classroom that (hopefully) engages and values every student's contribution.

I miss being in a classroom with my students, and I much prefer the dynamism of live classes. Understanding that this instructional method doesn't work for everyone equally means that it doesn't work for my classes.