Sept 24/20
The class I observed today was a synchronous, online class of university students in an advanced composition class. The topic of the lesson was the use of transitions in academic writing. The class was a mixture of following a page in the textbook, with the students all providing answers to the questions, and then having a short discussion about the correct answers.
What I found interesting in this class was the instructor’s ability to work within the limitations of the online platform. Big Blue Button is not very suitable platform for a writing class, yet the instructor had a system of using numbers in the chat for yes and no answers and used the chat as a place to review student answers. The instructor was supportive, encouraging and was able to discuss how North American academic writing differed from other cultures.