The Online Class

Whether you are new to teaching or a returning teaching, it is fair to say that the on-campus classroom of 2020/21 will be very different to any of your prior teaching experiences (either as a teacher or a student).

LSE’s Curriculum Shift 2020 details the School’s ongoing response to the coronavirus situation, and how it is adapting its teaching, and other practices, to best respond to it to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students. The following is a list of important links to School resources that you should visit, and discuss various aspects of campus life, including how the School is handling the return to campus, the precautions and steps it is putting into place, and the support mechanisms available to you to both help you do your job under, as well as cope with, the current circumstances:

• LSE Curriculum Shift 2020 website.
• LSE Curriculum Shift 2020 Guide for Departments document.
• Coronavirus: community advice and guidance website.
• Coronavirus response: Advice for staff website.

There are, of course, more general resources available on staff health and mental wellbeing - in particular the Staff Wellbeing website.

It is important to note that the School understands these are difficult times for everyone, and you are not alone. If you cannot find the help or advice you need in these electronic resources, then please do not feel you cannot talk to anyone.  There will be people who can help in your department and other areas such as Staff Wellbeing, for physical and mental health concerns and, of course, the Eden Centre, for teaching concerns.

The LSE Curriculum Shift 2020 framework details a broad range of changes being implemented across the School and informs the student the experience from the Welcome to new students through to summative assessment for courses and programmes. While the resources above will contain far more detailed information, key points to note are:

• Lectures are expected to be provided online and asynchronously (though teaching sessions such as large cohort seminars with a high degree of interactivity may still be conducted under physically distance rules).
• Classes and seminars are to be offered both on-campus and online (though several departments will also run hybrid (sometimes referred to as hyflex) classes which combine online and physically present cohorts).
• On-campus classes will be physically distanced, with classroom layouts that set students at 2m separation and provide teachers an ample teaching ‘corridor’ at the front of the class to navigate the teaching desk, whiteboard and projector screen.

This page will consider teaching in online. For resources on teaching in on-campus classrooms, see here.

While some courses will be conducting physically distanced classes on campus, many will also be offering classes both online or in a hybrid (hyflex) mode.  This shift may require some adaptation to your teaching approach to better support your students as well as take advantage of the opportunities (and navigate the pitfalls) that the medium affords.

The Eden Centre has produced a wide range of resources to support you in teaching online.

Templates for online teaching formats

The following resources offer guidance on appropriate formats for teaching online. 

• Guidance for online seminars using Moodle.
• Scenarios for migrating purely physical teaching based courses to an online format.
• Various templates for online sessions.

Synchronous learning activities using Zoom

The primary online platform that will be used for class teaching will be Zoom, and we have several articles that discusses various ways you can use Zoom to support synchronous learning activities in your class.

Moodle matrix for creating engaging online learning activities

A successful class format still requires well-designed learning activities to ensure good student engagement and learning.  You can our Moodle learning activity matrix to help you decide what Moodle activities could be used to achieve your class learning outcomes.

Sharing examples of LSE online teaching

As the shift to online occurred for many courses at the end of the 2019-20 academic year, many departments already have some first-hand experience and insight into how online teaching can work well at LSE. We have collected several examples of online teaching from across LSE for you to consider for possible incorporation or adaptation in your own practice.

• Using unsupported third-party tools for teaching and learning
• Guidance and expertise on Technology Enhanced Learning
• LSE Curriculum Shift 2020.
• Guidance for ensuring the continuity of education and the student learning experience.

The Eden Centre’s Atlas programme continues to offer a range of events designed to help staff develop their teaching and support their students’ learning. Check the website regularly for new details on workshops being offered.