E-learning is the sweet spot which satisfies both my teaching passion and my efficiency obsession. This portfolio addresses the following research questions:

1. How can college teachers harness technology to enhance their pedagogy without compromising student motivation or academic integrity?
2. What guidelines should teachers consider in choosing between synchronous vs. asynchronous delivery?
3. How can teachers foster student autonomy for more successful mastery of competencies in an online learning environment?

In April 2020, I gave my students the opportunity of a bonus activity, to express their feelings in a creative way. Here is a poem that one of them wrote. He was arguably expressing everyone’s feeling at the time:

Time

I wish someone would realize
That these online classes are disorganized.

There are too many platforms to use
No student can be amused.

Everyday, another doc.
When will this crisis ever stop?

I just want to return to school
And escape this system made by fools.

Will I complete my intensive?
This issue is unprecedented.

Organize staff in a uniform manner
Avoid stress and useless chatter.

Mio, Mio, Moodle, Zoom
For this stress, is there more room?

This poem reflects what is known as emergency remote teaching (ERT), as opposed to genuine online learning. E-learning proper begins by a reconsideration of the course ponderations: should the students receive the main content of the course in the class and practise at home, or vice versa. The latter is the flipped classroom model. Online education is a deliberate rearrangement of the ponderations for pedagogical gains, as opposed to ERT which is a compromise of pedagogy due to extenuating predicaments.

In the following 20-minute video I explain my approach and experience with e-learning. 

You are also encouraged to consult the Pedagogy Playlist on my YouTube channel. 

Going through this journey, I have developed a number of practical observations and practices to enhance e-learning. 

• Asynchronous education is inherently more inclusive and more student-centred than synchronous education. Therefore, it corresponds to the principles of both UDL and active learning. 
• We often hear, from both teachers and students, certain concerns about lower student engagement and motivation as fundamental limitations of online learning. These concerns, however, are questionable due to a number of reasons: (1) They pertain not to a well-planned e-learning design, but to ERT by an instructor who is inadequately prepared due to lack of experience. (2) They reflect the social and emotional aspects of college life, as opposed to pedagogical criteria and the mastery of competencies. Much of this emotive frustration is a form of status quo bias: an attachment to how things have been so far, and a reluctance to try a new paradigm. Indeed, lower student engagement in the courses expressed by many teachers is often an expression of the teacher’s own loss of motivation and engagement. In cases of real student disengagement, it is partly due to their specific course design, and partly a matter of adapting to a new design that they have not seen in their education history. 
• Our experience with the pandemic, whether through ERT or genuine online learning, has opened our eyes to vast horizons with infinitely new possibilities. These possibilities can best be materialized through a mix of two conditions: (1) the teachers’ professional autonomy to explore new frontiers by implementing new pedagogies; (2) expert support from the college and the department in helping the teachers to do so. We can no longer take for granted that there is a one-size-fits-all model of education that can be prescribed to all faculty in a top-down manner. Instead of trying to force all teachers into a standard mould in the name of equity, it is more prudent to acknowledge that there are multiple ways to realize the course competencies. 

• This calls for a major reevaluation of teacher evaluations. An essential factor that is missing in the current evaluations is the long-term retention of course competencies. New evaluation schemes must extend their scope beyond the course in question. 

In short, there are strong arguments, based on both pedagogy and inclusiveness, to maintain and develop asynchronous learning beyond the pandemic. Online learning can be a very empowering experience for both teachers and students, even though one may feel forlorn on an island. The various aspects of this experience – such as the opening of new horizons, the sense of autonomy, and facing our existential loneliness – are very well depicted by Caspar David Friedrich in his masterpiece, The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. 

One of the disguised blessings of the pandemic was to make us revise our teaching methods. In so doing, let our guiding principle be raising authentic self-learners. As Rumi says: 

One moment you’re a scale and judge to some;
Next moment you’re tuning to others who drum. 

How much more do you want to feed on their crumb,
Awaiting for them to serve you rum? 

From now on, be your own scale and plumb;
Then balanced and in-tune within you become. 

References and recommended readings: 

Bates, A. T. (2019). Teaching in a digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning (2nd ed.).

Clark, R. C., & Kwinn, A. (2007). The new virtual classroom: Evidence-based guidelines for        synchronous e-learning. John Wiley & Sons. 

Lang, J. M. (2016). Small teaching: Everyday lessons from the science of learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass & Pfeiffer. 

Lobato, J. (2006). Alternative perspectives on the transfer of learning: History, issues, and challenges for future research. The journal of the learning sciences, 15(4), 431-449. 

Simons, P. R. J. (1999). Transfer of learning: Paradoxes for learners. International journal of educational research, 31(7), 577-589. 

Stinnett, H. (2018). How 1-on-1 time with students made me a better teacher. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-09-18-how-1-on-1-time-with-students-made-me-a-better-teacher 

Strong, B., Davis, M., & Hawks, V. (2004). Self-grading in large general education classes: A case study. College Teaching, 52(2), 52-57. 

Ulmer, M. B. (2000). Self-Grading: A Simple Strategy for Formative Assessment in Activity-Based Instruction. ERIC. 

Von Bergen, M. (2017). Meaningful Learning through one-on-one conferences. Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/meaningful-learning-through-one-on-one-conferences/