{"id":18308,"date":"2016-02-29T09:09:49","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T14:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/edc\/?p=18308"},"modified":"2021-08-13T10:13:26","modified_gmt":"2021-08-13T14:13:26","slug":"turning-challenges-of-online-teaching-into-opportunities-spotlight-on-peter-thompson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/2016\/turning-challenges-of-online-teaching-into-opportunities-spotlight-on-peter-thompson\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning challenges of online teaching into opportunities: Spotlight on Peter Thompson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Student3\"By Emily Cook, TLS staff writer<\/em><\/p>\n

Some might see the challenges of online teaching and shy away from it, but for Associate Professor Peter Thompson, those challenges are opportunities in disguise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenges and opportunities are in some ways the same. I think the big thing is being aware of them and using them in the most effective way,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Thompson joined Carleton\u2019s School of Canadian Studies in 2009 and two years later began teaching online courses that he developed along with two other colleagues.<\/p>\n

When teaching, Thompson says he strives to create an open environment and excite students with his own enthusiasm for the subject. His efforts were recognized in 2015 when he was named a Provost\u2019s Fellowship in Teaching Award winner for sustained excellence in teaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really lucky to teach at Carleton because we have such amazing support, both for online and for face-to-face teaching,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When it comes to teaching online courses, Thompson says he tries to apply similar principles as he does in his face-to-face lectures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to create an environment where the students are comfortable and where they feel like they can respond to the material,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He says he uses programs like BigBlueButton, a web conferencing tool developed at Carleton, as well as Google Docs for shared notes. With BigBlueButton, students can ask questions in real-time, which helps build a classroom feel. Thompson says this addresses the major challenge of timing in online teaching because students generally watch lectures and join the chat room at different times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat shared experience of being in a classroom is lost,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

But this challenge is also an opportunity, he says, because students\u2019 time is more flexible. That means they can rewind if they missed something, and look up facts as they go.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s important, according to Thompson, is mitigating the challenges of online teaching with tools like BigBlueButton, inviting students to his office, or having live lectures.<\/p>\n

Thompson says students respond pretty well to these methods because they\u2019re quirky and different. For some, he says, they even prefer this format because those too nervous to come into his office can talk to him online.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tend to think most of those things work both ways,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re not necessarily perfect either way but as long as you\u2019re aware of them, or doing your best to mitigate them, they tend to work fairly well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Emily Cook, TLS staff writer Some might see the challenges of online teaching and shy away from it, but for Associate Professor Peter Thompson, those challenges are opportunities in disguise. \u201cThe challenges and opportunities are in some ways the same. I think the big thing is being aware of them and using them in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[327,606],"yoast_head":"\nTurning challenges of online teaching into opportunities: Spotlight on Peter Thompson - 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