Bookends: Adventures in Undergraduate and Graduate Immersive and Intensive Course Delivery in a Brave New Online World

Keywords: Online courses, Positioning Theory, Transitioning to Online

Abstract: In this presentation, three authors/instructors share experiences of preparing for, delivering, and then reflecting on the ‘success’ of the course, its delivery, and feedback from students on the cohort. Specifically, the choices made regarding synchronous/asynchronous delivery, how and what to communicate before and during the weekend, and how to organize ‘blocks’ to allow students time to step away from the class/their computers. An important aspect of the online/home course works design was the acknowledgment that students in their home environments with families close by and the possibility of technical challenges are likely to experience significant challenges to their engagement compared to the same students in a dedicated classroom with minimal distractions. We will reflect on the relative successes/failures we encountered and how we were able to share what went well/not so well with others teaching on the program to better prepare them for their success.