I just sent the powers that be at my law school the following message:
I’m finding that I really enjoy teaching remotely. Let me explain why:
- As you know, many of my classes—especially Business Associations—have to be taught in our largest classrooms, where I have to boom to be heard in the back and where my eyesight—even with glasses—prevents me from seeing the back few rows as more than blurs.
- Remotely, I can speak normally and can see student faces more easily.
- Because I use a Mac at home and the office, switching to the classroom Windows machines has always been a headache.
- Using a Mac to teach from has made my life much easier.
- Using a Mac at home has also allowed me to be much more spontaneous. I routinely pause the lecture to pull things off the internet or open files from DropBox. My greatly diminished Windows skills make that much harder on the classroom screens.
- I find I am more experimental. I am using PollEverywhere, with I think success. But I’m also incorporating more videos and so on to see what works.
- I’m more available to students. I send out Doddle polls to find out when they want me to hold office hours in a week. I meet with them individually via Zoom even in the evening.
- I have the flexibility of recording a class for asynchronous viewing in even of a crisis.
- My attendance has been very good. 20-22 out of 24.
- I credit that in part to the greater intimacy that online learning seems to promote.
- I get a TON of student questions via chat. Students are much more willing to ask a question via private chat than to raise their hand in a classroom, especially because I have a policy of not naming the student who sent the question.
- I’m even attending more faculty meetings since they went to remote.
- My carbon footprint is lower. I’ve only driven my car 4 times since March.
What I propose is that the administration give serious thought to giving faculty an option to teach remotely on a permanent basis. In my case, for example, Helen and I are about 90% sure that we will not retire in California. Currently, my plan is to retire mid-2025, when I am Social Security eligible. But remote teaching would make it possible for Helen and I to move now and for me to continue teaching well past 2025. Plus, as you know, I am not a morning person and constantly request afternoon classes. But if I were on the East Coast, I could get up late, teach a class at 1 PM and it would still be 10 am in Los Angeles.