Letter to the Editor: Resources and recommendations for a quick transition to online instruction in physiology

to the editor: As the COVID-19 virus has spread throughout the world, many of us are finding ourselves in a unique situation: having to teach a course that has traditionally been in-person in a virtual format. These unique situations may not be the optimal for many types of learning, but we can learn from those who have provided valuable experience in the past. Still, there are many, myself included, who look at the idea of transitioning an in-person, hands-on, active classroom that relies on group work into a socially distanced online experience as a seemingly daunting task (13). This short article aims to provide some basic guidelines and recommendations from those who have transitioned to online teaching in the past, some resources that may be available to you to aid your transition, and to offer suggestions as to how any instructor can cope with the limitations that have been recently thrust upon him/her by this global pandemic. For those who currently teach online or hybrid style classes, this article may provide additional resources for your classrooms of the future.

Some of us have been unceremoniously placed in a situation that requires us to quickly shift our carefully planned curricula into a new environment. As uncertainty is ever present and new challenges are sure to arise as internet infrastructure is sure to be brought to its limits, it is necessary to, as REO Speedwagon so eloquently put it, roll with the changes (22). Changing the methodology we use to teach is difficult (24). We should not expect the same results when this change is done “on the fly” versus a well-planned out transition (21, 25). Furthermore, it is very difficult to fully recreate the in-person classroom specifically in online teaching’s ability for personal interactions in a virtual space (13). Rather than relying on copying what we do in the physical space, we must instead examine the purpose of each and every activity that we have placed in our classes, boiling them down to their intended outcomes. Each activity should serve as an opportunity for students to gain the skills and content knowledge that they would normally. Taking these learning objectives as guides, we need to help shepherd the students to this knowledge through a variety of methods. This may require cutting some content, activities, or aspects of the course, but, given the quick turnaround that is required, only the essentials should be delivered. When looking at specific content to reduce, there are a number of approaches that the instructor can take, including a focus on one key aspect per topic, focusing on the applicable knowledge or reducing complexity of the content (2). If a course serves as a foundational course within a major, focusing on the knowledge that is required for success in future classes is best. Alternatively, content can be scaffolded and chunked into smaller, more consumable content pieces, allowing the student to focus on a smaller portion of material at a time. No matter the approach, transitioning your course to a fully online format in short order is very possible.

While it may be tempting to simply rely on some of the available technology to do what you have been doing, but remotely, direct conversion of a 50- to 75-min in-person teaching experience to an online-only format has been shown to be detrimental to student attention and knowledge retention (4, 18). Furthermore, students may run into issues connecting to an online class because of the lack of technology available to them, including an ISP throttled connection, lack of connection, or lack of computer (13). Unfortunately, these hurdles are going to be more present within those students who are considered underrepresented and nontraditional college participants (3, 11). One suggestion for overcoming these issues is by using an asynchronous approach to teaching. This style uses many “modes” of teaching, including audio only, downloadable files, and/or a direct online presentation. These multimodal styles are often recommended as a method of getting around many of the hurdles that technology can place in front of online learning because of their flexibility (10). Additionally, just as many faculty are struggling with learning a new way of interacting, we must remember that, often times, students may be technically challenged when faced with new and foreign software (7). A number of resources that can provide software for aiding in this transition can be found through curated sites, with some current options highlighted below (Table 1).

Table 1.

A short list of some resources that are available for helping with the transition to an online course in short order

Purpose	Resource	Description
Presentation	Zoom (31)	Remote video hosting. Allows for screen sharing and video capture (with fancy backgrounds). Currently free resource for all online teaching. Has an audio-only option for phone call-in for those who are unable to use a computer.
	YouTube (30)	Creating a class YouTube channel can be done with privacy as invite only. YouTube provides free transcription services.
	Google Hangout/Google Classroom (14)	Virtual meeting space. May require different subscription. Upper limit of 100 concurrent users.
Video capture	Kaltura (15)	Remote video hosting and video capture. Provides transcription. Directly linked to some learning management systems.
	TechSmith Snagit (27)	Screen capture that allows for sharing of a lecture or learning content.
Captioning	CADET (29)	Captioning software that can also provide audio description scripts. Slightly complex to use and install but very powerful.
Virtual laboratories and laboratory alternatives	MERLOT (19)	A variety of different types of virtual laboratories.
	LifeSciTRC (16)	Collection of course materials (including case studies) curated by practicing faculty.
	NCCSTS (20)	Case studies, requires membership.
	PhET Interactive Simulations (28)	Interactive simulations: generally more aimed at introductory level, but could be applicable in some cases.
	Lt (1)	ADInstruments is currently providing free Lt software to enable virtual laboratories.

Websites are current as of March 24, 2020.

Laboratories present an interesting challenge when transitioning to a fully online model that is generally unique to the sciences. Often, laboratory activities rely on collecting novel data, exploring student-driven questions, or carefully describing classical pathways through experimentation. Still, there are many solutions to achieving similar results to those found in an in situ laboratory activity, including recycling of previous years’ collected data for analysis, replacing laboratories with case studies or hypothetical situations that can address the same learning objectives, and the implementation of virtual simulations (17). One of the simplest ways of replacing a laboratory activity can be accomplished by recycling raw data that has been collected and deidentified from previous years’ classes. This can be done if computer records of data or old laboratory notebooks have been kept. The instructor would simply give the deidentified data to the new set of students with instructions as to how to collect the data (possibly supplemented with an online video of the technique). Students can then process and analyze the data for themselves. Either as an alternative or supplement to recycling this data, virtual experiences often exist as online-only simulations or videos of a laboratory technique or learning concept or as example sets of data that can still be analyzed, despite the lack of specific data collection (8). Finally, since all activities should be boiled down to their essential learning outcomes, it may be possible to replace a hands-on experience with more of a thought-driven approach through the employment of a case study or hypothetical situation (20). Using case studies or laboratory-based scenarios can address the same learning outcomes without needing to physically occupy a laboratory space. While any of these alternative activities may not recreate the same learning environment as a hands-on laboratory, they should still help address some of the learning outcomes that are commonly associated with laboratory activities. Given the right resources and a bit of creativity, it is very possible to develop a good replacement to an in-person laboratory, but still, it is best to remember that these must not be seen as a perfect replacement for a truly fleshed out course.

As we venture forth into the “new normal” that COVID-19 has suddenly thrust upon us, we need to remember that we are all humans and that we are all learning to cope with the uncertainty in our classrooms and the world at large. The following list of advice has been curated from a number of sources across the internet since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak (5, 6, 9, 12, 26):

• Keeping a set and specific line of communication open with the students you instruct is best, although make sure that you are not overextending yourself in doing so.

• Maintain a schedule when videos will be posted and when you will be available to answer questions, either in a virtual office or via e-mail, instant messaging, or phone.

• Give explicit instructions. Make sure to be deliberate in communications, instructions, and requirements.

• Be flexible in what you expect from yourself and your students. With the disruption to normal life, students may be required to face additional challenges that make completion of assignments more difficult. Additionally, you yourself may be required to accomplish more in a different environment with different resources than you are used to.

• As with flipping the classroom, keep any videos under 15 min in length and expect that students may watch them on double speed (23). Posting a full 50- to 75-min lecture online, expecting students to both watch and comprehend all that is posted, is not recommended.

• Some students may see levity in the classroom as a welcome relief from the stresses that they are encountering on a daily basis. Using humor in all situations, like immediately before giving an exam, may not be appropriate and may be seen as frustrating or insulting to the student.

• All of us will cope in differing ways when confronting this new normal, including students, administrators, and other faculty members.

• Students may act differently online than they would in person, being frustrated, frightened, or angered with their current situation, and, as an instructor, you cannot take it personally.

• Consider using open-book or open-note exams that rely on application questions rather than recall-based questions. Or rather than using exams at all, have students design experiments or answer an application-based essay.

• When struggling with how to adapt, remember that you are not alone: look to resources that can be found here (Table 1), the LifeSciTRC (16), social media, and colleagues in other disciplines.

Best of luck as we all continue forward into this new normal.

DISCLOSURES

No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the author.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

A.M.P. conceived and designed research; drafted manuscript; edited and revised manuscript; approved final version of manuscript.