REFLECTIONS ON GOING ONLINE TOGETHER:EDUCATOR PLANNING, SUPPORT, AND SHARING
Kate de Veas, Sharon Sakuda, Sam Godin, Jennie Roloff Rothman
Kanda University of International Studies
FOUR SEPARATE REFLECTIONSThis piece is a mosaic of four short personal reflections by a group of lecturers who, after
preparing together in April of 2020, taught the same newly-online course. Each of thefollowing sections focuses on the most essential takeaway, from each perspective. In sharing
our reflections this way, we hope to legitimize each voice, extoll group dynamics amongteachers, and allow readers to draw conclusions from the most relevant voice for them.
CASUAL INTER-EDUCATOR COMMUNICATIONThe recent change to an online environment has been one of the most hectic and stressful
times in many educators’ memories, especially mine. The feelings my fellow university
lecturers and I experienced at the beginning of the semester — confusion, apprehension,
frustration — had no outlet, as four of us who were teaching the same sophomore-required
course on global communication sat down and, all separately, stared at the walls andscreamed internally. It was not until we all met online that we agreed to a plan for how totackle the demands of adapting the course. As with all strategies being crafted across theuniversity at that time, we had no way of knowing if this strategy would be successful, would
be harmful (adding to our stress), or would simply be ineffective. To summarize, we werepart of a LINE group (LINE is a communications app, and the most widely used such app inJapan) created specifically for those of us teaching this course. While hardly innovative, inthat we recommended such things to our students for the sake of socialization, the LINEgroup that we authors have shared has been, in my experience, absolutely invaluable — notfor the quality of materials or depth of discussion exchanged, but for the off-topic,
humorous, frivolous little comments that remind us what it is to have social bonds. To refresh
our minds about topics, to complain about unexpected annoyances, to be a sounding board
for ideas, or to check in with mutual friends and ask after each other’s health, ourparticipation in this LINE group is empowering. It validates the feelings that we all have about
the difficulty of our tasks, and reduced our isolation, even as we worked to reduce ourstudents’ isolation. It has allowed us to better understand ourselves, the challenges of theonline semester, and the intercultural connectivity we teach about.
OVERCOMING THE FEAR OF CRITICISM AND FEEDBACK
Sharing and getting feedback on materials is always a little intimidating for me, as it cansometimes feel that the pointed-out flaws and suggested improvements are reflections ofme as a teacher, rather than the ideas or materials themselves. Despite this fear, sharing felt
especially necessary this semester as we navigated emergency online teaching. Doing so
helped me to ensure that my materials aligned with course goals and that my assessments
fairly and accurately measured students’ growth. In addition to discussing ideas through20.	  Reﬂections	  on	  Going	  Online	  Together:	  Educator	  Planning,	  Support,	  and	  Sharing.	  Kate	  de	  Veas,	  Sharon	  Sakuda,	  Sam	  Godin,	  &	  Jennie	  Roloﬀ	  Rothman.	  Pages	  79-­‐81.	  Literacies	  &	  Language	  Education:	  Research	  &	  Practice,	  2020	  Special	  Section:	  Teaching	  During	  a	  Pandemic.	  English	  Language	  Institute,	  KUIS.

LINE, email, and Zoom, I shared actual worksheets and project instructions with my fellow
course teachers. This allowed them to see what students would see and they could then pointout the confusing or unnecessary parts, particularly with the asynchronous tasks andinstructions. As we figured out the logistics and requirements of assessment online, I also
shared unorganized, work-in-progress unit outlines and half-formed assessment ideas,
which other teachers graciously and patiently reviewed, commented on, and helped toimprove. The advice I received was invaluable and the teachers’ insight gave me clarity andfocus as I brainstormed, discarded, re-wrote, and finally chose activities and assessments.
My final project, in particular, went through many iterations, thanks to the knowledge andfeedback of other teachers. What started as a role-play, turned into a research-and-present
project, which morphed into a final research-and-discuss unit assessment. Sharing ideas inwriting gave us time to read and reflect, before discussing the strengths and weaknesses.
This process was essential and extremely helpful for me, but it would not have beensuccessful without the patience and cooperation of my fellow course teachers, to whom I amgrateful.
IMPORTANCE OF NEEDS BASED ASSESSMENT DURING EMERGENCY TEACHING
When the classroom environment is switched with short notice from a traditional classroom
experience to a completely online experience, it can be fairly hard to adjust properly for boththe students and the instructors. Concepts that seem like common sense in the traditionalclassroom, such as group sizes and how long to keep students together in a discussion, aresuddenly not as simple, and have to be carefully considered. Even the platform of Zoom issomething that is suddenly another element to include in the lesson planning process. That
is why I believe needs assessment of the students is so important. Finding out what isconnecting with the students and what is not is essential to making sure the classroom runs
smoothly in the online environment. For these reasons, I presented my students with various
Google Forum surveys throughout the semester to find what was and was not working. After
getting a response from most of the students, I made the necessary adjustments to theclassroom environment, including aspects such as synchronous class time (too long or tooshort?), breakout discussion times (too many, not enough?), homework load (too difficult,not engaging enough?), preference for changing discussion groups (more often, changeless?), and their general feelings about the content of each unit. Not having the students
physically in the classroom leads to the problem of not being able to ask them directly how
they feel about the class. This is difficult to do in an online environment unless you are able
to speak to them one-on-one or in small groups. While it is possible to take a class period toassess their thoughts, a survey was the best route to take as they could complete it outside
the classroom and take their time to give feedback. The survey was also anonymous so theywould not feel pressure when criticizing the class. These needs assessments helped me
adjust the classroom experience to better fit the students, and in the end, helped the online
classroom become better for everyone.
STAYING GROUNDED
This semester has been an interesting one. It has been one that challenged me in a numberof ways, primarily in having to juggle all my responsibilities to my teachers and my students.
At the beginning of the semester, a meeting was held in which four of us teaching the sameglobal communication course discussed our concerns for the upcoming term; this, I believe,
helped all of us come to terms with the situation. The concern I voiced was that I would lose
sight of my classroom as I focused on providing support for the ELI teachers. I would not bein the position I am in if I did not love teaching in the first place, but in that moment, I wasmore concerned that teachers would feel unsupported. I had 15 years of experience undermy belt that I planned to rely on for my classes and yet I still felt unsettled in thiscircumstance. It felt risky to admit this to the group, but I was hoping I would be met withsomething positive. The response I got is something that sustained me, emotionally, and interms of motivation for the semester. In between meetings, we shared ideas via email andas part of a LINE group. As I sat in my apartment, staring at screens wondering how I wouldadapt activities, I often felt isolated and alone. Being able to fire off a message to others in
the LINE group, even if it was a joke, was enough for me to know that I was not alone andthat I would, eventually, figure everything out. At other times, we talked out how an activity
could be best adapted (e.g. adjusting discussion groups, class times, conversation journals,
grading) and these discussions helped me clarify what I would do later on my own. Still othertimes, we shared how students reacted to our online classrooms, and would adjust based onwhat was working for others. I have come to realize that being able to talk out ideas for myclassroom is crucial for my planning and teaching style. The communication between all of
us this semester helped keep me, and my teaching, grounded. I do not think I would havesurvived this semester without our little group and all the support they have given me. Thankyou so much, I could not have made it without you.