You’re at the half-way mark of our “Formats & Modalities” module, folks! We are switching gears this week and tackling the topic why does modality matter? As we dive into this topic, my head is thinking about institutional coherence around modality. Sarah and I had some annotational chatter in the sidebar of “The Landscape of Merging Modalities” about how we define (or rather don’t define) what the “hybrid” modality entails at PSU. What would it look like if we built coherence around what it means to work both online and in person? How could students go and replicate the community norms they learn in their hybrid classrooms in other contexts? Do we do a disservice to students by keeping these modalities loose and undefined? Or does this allow for ultimate flexibility?
Suggested Structure for Engaging
- Topic: We are on to our second module topic, “Why Does Modality Matter?”. Read and the blurb and view the video. Estimated engagement time: 10 min.
- Resources: Continue exploring the readings on the Resources page. This week, we will read and annotate Chapter 1 of the “Manifesto for Teaching Online” together! Estimated engagement time: 25 min.
- Questions: Take a look at the past answers to “Why do you think modality matters?” and leave a reply, or create your own answer. Scroll through the questions in this module and choose one more to engage with! Estimated engagement time: 15 min.
- Activities: In our first group reading, Chelsea honed in on getting away from seeing f2f and online as a binary, which limits our creativity and engagement. In that vein, I encourage folks to complete the Let’s Get Ven activity which invites us to think beyond the binary and think about the design considerations across different modalities. Estimated engagement time: 20 min.
- Tip! Enjoy poking around and commenting on your colleagues’ stuff. It’s easy to see the action from our Home Page!
Hope you all are enjoying the summer! My little family unit headed to the beach this weekend to soak up some rays, and WOW what a delight. Thank goodness for New England summer! If you feel like you’ve put in about 3-4 hours into the module so far, you are on the right track. If you haven’t, try putting aside some time this week to dig in, prioritizing topics and group resources. Happy engaging!