Adjusting to School Outside the Classroom: One Professor Turns to YouTube
Julia Ledet was teaching Math 1100 during an August intersession when the 2016 Louisiana floods submerged thousands of homes and businesses and forced LSU to suspend classes for three days—the equivalent to missing three weeks of coursework during a regular semester.
To get the content to her students, Ledet turned to making YouTube videos. Since then, she has posted numerous videos from other classes at LSU.
Fast forward to 2020, the world is living in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced malls, restaurants, schools, and even government buildings around the globe to move online or close completely.
So, how do colleges and universities move forward in the face of this pandemic and continue to provide quality education and resources to its students? The 2016 Louisiana floods have given Ledet some experience in online course delivery, and she is here to offer some advice about how educators can use online tools to teach their classes.
Jolie: How did you have the idea to go online to continue to teach your course?
Julia: In August 2016, I was teaching Math 1100 in Intersession. This was at the time of the flood. The University was closed for three days, and I was anxious to complete the semester with my students. It seemed to be a workable solution when we were not allowed to meet on campus.
I chose to use videos and post them on YouTube because I felt that students likely had access to that. In my regular face-to-face classroom, I had transitioned to using the document camera rather than using the board years ago. With making the videos and putting them on YouTube, I really did not change anything about how I lectured on the material. I just changed the delivery of the material from face-to-face to video.
Jolie: What alternative teaching methods did you utilize during this time?
Julia: I used email to communicate with the students. I made videos of me talking about the material and working examples in an effort to deliver the content.
My videos were made by propping my cell phone up with a selfie stick. I put the selfie stick in a vase to have it in an almost vertical position. I put rocks and coins in the bottom of the vase in an effort to keep the selfie stick from moving and to weigh the vase down. With the smartphone attached to the selfie stick this made the vase heavy on one side causing it to sometimes topple over. I took a glass measuring cup that had a bit of weight to it and a handle that was not closed on the bottom as a counter weight to keep the vase from toppling over. Even with a plastic lightweight measuring cup this can be done by putting rocks and coins in the plastic cup. With this arrangement, the smartphone with the video camera pretty much was a make shift document camera much like the document cameras that are in our classrooms on campus.
Jolie: Did the students adapt to this new method quickly?
Julia: Students are young and more technology savvy than most of the faculty. They adapt very quickly.
Jolie: How did you fully engage them?
Julia: As a teacher you do your best to have students fully engaged. Even on campus it is impossible to make sure all students are fully engaged. Some of the responsibility of being engaged must also rest with the students. It is the same with delivering the content online. Teachers can do their best to engage the students, but the student must also accept some responsibility.
Communicate with them by email. Post notes and messages on Moodle. Reach them using as many angles as you can. If you have a YouTube Channel and they subscribe to it, then they will get notifications when you post a new video.
Jolie: How were you able to connect with students who were affected?
Julia: For the Intersession class in August of 2016, the class was small with about 10 people. Because the class was so small, I had shared by cell number with that class at the start of the semester. So while we could communicate by phone, our primary means of communication was through email. They were looking for emails from me to keep them informed.
The students today are looking for emails from their teachers. Even if the email today simply says, “I have not forgotten about you. I am still sorting out some details and I will let you know how we will proceed as soon as the details are figured out.” As for sharing your cell number or not that is up to individual faculty members. It has been my experience that most students are very respectful about having a teacher’s cell number and they do not abuse it. (Although it can be abused in the sense of a student might call instead of send an email when an email will do.)
Jolie: What flexibility in completing the course did you offer then, and are you offering now?
Julia: I made the due dates more flexible. One of the students in the class was directly affected by the flood so flexible due dates were needed. This student did complete the course on time. When I asked him about staying on course with our class and dealing with the flood, he said that going to class and doing the work was actually a “welcome distraction” from the stress of dealing with a flooded house. When class resumed he did not miss a single class period. More flexibility was available in the scheduling of the Final Exam for that Intersession class. The Final Exam for that class was scheduled for a Saturday. The University gave permission for the Final to be on Sunday. I gave the students in the class each an individual choice, they could test on Saturday or Sunday. I was also flexible with the material in the course.
Jolie: What are some of the lessons you learned from teaching this course then that you can apply and improve now?
Julia: Don’t be obsessed with videos being perfect. This would take too much time. As you make videos, pay attention to what you can do to improve the next video.
One thing I saw in some of my first videos was that my shadow was showing on the paper. Subsequent videos were done with a light shining overhead to minimize or eliminate the shadow.
Jolie: Do you think that students receive just as much value and attention from online courses when instructors adapt their teaching styles?
Julia: Students are resilient. While I might not feel like students got as much value and attention that they do in a face-to-face class because I am not “seeing” them directly, the students are OK with it and can thrive in it.
Jolie: How long did it take for the students to buy in?
Julia: Students have bought in already. They bought in before faculty did.
Jolie: Were any students unable to succeed with this alternative teaching?
Julia: Yes. Unfortunately, we will likely always have students unsuccessful regardless of the mode of delivery. We have this in our face-to-face classes and it happens in online classes. Years ago (1980s) I took a couple of classes through Distance Learning. Being a student in such a class took a lot of self-discipline. You have to “make yourself” do the work. This will likely be one of the biggest challenges as we move forward online with this semester.
Maybe students could be motivated this semester by offering bonus points. There are times that I have offered a “class bonus,” meaning that if a certain percent of the students in the class earn the bonus points then the whole class gets the bonus points. If you have an online forum and you find that students are not responding, then you might want to try offering a bonus opportunity to increase responses.
Jolie: What was a huge success story you have from this time?
Julia: I do not know of a particular individual student success story that was a success because the student was in an online class as opposed to being in a face-to-face class. I will say that students did report that they liked the videos online and they liked the flexibility of being able to take the course from wherever they were in the world. I also liked being able to be elsewhere and still be teaching. In the Summer of 2019 I was in Australia for a few weeks while teaching my class online. Online does have some perks!
Jolie: What kind of response have you gotten so far?
Julia: I think right now we are all in a bit of a holding pattern, still figuring out how to make this semester successful for our students. Some faculty can jump right in and figure out what they need to do and start right away. Others need to let the situation “roll around in their head” for a little while. I am in the “let it roll around in your head” type.
Jolie: How are you making yourself available during this LSU closure?
Julia: In my last face-to-face class on Friday March 13, I did give out my cell number. The class has about 43 students of which about 20-25 were in attendance that day. I felt comfortable giving this class my cell number. I did not give the number out to my 450-person Math 1029 class.
I am checking and answering email. I have also posted on Moodle a forum where I want students to introduce themselves. In Math 1552 this forum will count as a quiz/participation grade. The purpose of this forum is for me to find out where my students landed and if they have a reliable internet connection.
Jolie: Was there a turning point where you realized you could still help your students when they couldn't reach campus for classes?
Julia: In August 2016 I needed a way to reach my students. We needed to have the instruction time. It was a challenge as we were distraught with the flooding in Baton Rouge. I needed to put “something” out there. While my videos that Summer were not at all the best, it was something we could grab on to in that difficult time. The important thing is to get started with doing something to help your students. Don’t worry about it being the “perfect, polished something” although do make sure that it is accessible to all of your students.
Jolie: What do you personally find exciting, important and surprising about teaching mathematics at LSU?
Julia: I love teaching, and I love teaching mathematics. I love interacting with the students at LSU. As faculty we are in a position where we can make a difference in our students’ lives. I will have to find a way to continue interacting at a personal level with my students through the use of a computer and by phone as needed.
Jolie: Are there any tips you can offer to other instructors concerning continuing classes in crisis situations?
Julia: I think that we might consider relaxing requirements on some things that were intended to be carried out in a face-to-face classroom. In particular, I am talking about the next test in your classroom. This is especially true if this next test is scheduled right away when classes start up again.
What do I want the students to do? First and foremost, I want them to reengage in the class. This can be done by making the next test a “take home” test. Yes, they will collaborate, and I want them to. I want them engaging with the class and with each other. I want them doing something. I want them back on track in this time of crisis.
Whatever you do, CONTINUE, CONTINUE, CONTINUE. The students need you. How do I know this? In 1982, I was a student in crisis. On July 9, 1982 I lost my parents in the crash of Pan Am 759. It was between my Junior and Senior year as an undergrad at LSU. In the Summer of 1982 after the crash, I had thought about dropping out of LSU and continuing school closer to home where I would be near family. At some point in that time of indecision, I decided to return to LSU for the Fall 1982 Semester. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
I returned to my familiar surroundings. I returned to a place where I did not have constant memories of my parents in those surroundings. I was able to re-connect with my LSU friends and immerse myself in my classes. This was a welcome relief, and it gave me stability that I desperately needed at the time. Our students are going to need some stability in this time of crisis. Some of this stability can be found in us continuing to do what we have been trained to do, teach and share our expertise. We must continue for our students. Make a list of things you need to do for your students and for yourself in this time of uncertainty. Make a schedule and start checking things off of your list.
Jolie: Is there anything else you’d like to add about this process?
Julia: Answering these questions was an eye-opener for me. Even my Zoom meeting with my grad students on March 17 was a bit of an eye-opener. I will add something that I learned from dealing successfully with the crash of Pan Am Flight 759: network, network, network. Talk to each other. While we are strongly encouraged to “stay home,” in today’s world we can easily network from home. Let’s get some small (or maybe large) groups going by using computer chat, phone, or Zoom. In the Zoom meeting with my grad students we were sharing our screens and troubleshooting together to figure out how to post a survey to Moodle. Our younger, more tech savvy grad students are a great resource. We must float through this crisis together. On an elementary school field trip everyone has a buddy. I think we should follow this lead and all get a faculty buddy or buddies. Check in with them every day. We can communicate and train each other via computer. And one more thing, WASH YOUR HANDS!