COVID-19: a student's perspective on remote learning

So far in this series, we have thought about things from an instructor's perspective. Of course, we need to hear from students, so today I did a Zoom session with a student near and dear to my heart: my son, Tristan. He was upstairs in his study area, and I was downstairs in my make-shift office.

Tristan really took my production and video editing skills to task, but he also shares some great ideas (and they were all his!) on what's going well in his classes and what is maybe not going so great.



By the way, Tristan is really good at editing video and he will eventually need a job. Please. Email me.

COVID-19 Teaching: group contracts for on-line projects

In today's 1.5-minute Teaching episode, I'm joined by Dr. Jason Headrick who shares some great tips on using student-generated, group contracts for your larger group or team projects. These are excellent to clarify everyone's expectations as students embark on these joint efforts. These are good for any group project situation (in-person or remote communication), but perhaps even more important now.

He also mentions carrier pigeons...see if you catch it.

COVID-19 Teaching: platforms for our groups to work together online

Today's 1.5-minute Teaching episode is about platforms for your students to use to complete group projects! How do we do this, now that we are online? Dr. Taylor Ruth from the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication department in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln joins me to share her ideas from her course.

Quick trip to see the sandhill cranes

Before COVID-19, I had several plans to see the world-famous sandhill crane migration in Nebraska this spring. There was a crane festival to speak at, and a couple of other groups to assist with their viewing opportunities. We were going to make sure my mother saw the cranes in person for the first time. However, those were all canceled with COVID concerns.

But, I wanted to see the cranes. They were still there.

This afternoon, I grabbed my son and we left Lincoln about 5pm in a quick trip out for the 8:06pm sunset extravaganza at the viewing platform south of the Gibbon exit along I-80. Per normal, at first I was worried perhaps the warm weather had sent the cranes northward. However, right at sunset, they started to fly over, finding sandbars and taking their last look at the setting sun.

Enjoy the photos--sound on with the video!

This guy landed 20 minutes before the others. Maybe he's 'social distancing'??

Sunset and the cranes start to circle the Platte River.

Piling into the sandbar for the night.

Amazing view--still lots of cranes late in the season.

COVID-19 Teaching: admitting what is happening around us

In today's episode of 1.5-minute Teaching, we go to my front yard. I was all set to sunbathe with my daffodils until I discovered something awful had happened. Snow! Do I stay the course and sunbathe, or admit things have changed? Of course, I need to adapt or I will freeze to death.

Our teaching should be the same way. Listen for some ideas about how to incorporate realness of the situation as you work with your students.

COVID-19 Teaching: a little empathy will go a long way in the next few weeks

To date, in our 1.5-minute Teaching series, we've covered how to get ready for online teaching. That's happening now. However, we are now starting to see the indirect and direct effects of COVID-19. This is not just taking our courses online...we're taking our courses online in a VERY unique situation. Our students may get sick. We may get sick. Our students may be working more hours to keep their families' afloat. People are getting laid off from work.

We can't keep teaching like the world around us isn't happening. Check out the video for some ideas on how you can adjust and work with your students.