Dear SEAS Faculty,
As we look towards the Fall 2020 semester, we as a school must prepare for a mode of instruction that provides high-quality education simultaneously to both in-person and online students and that seamlessly supports students/faculty transitioning between the two. Our two guiding principles are uncompromised quality and resilient inclusion. (My May 15 memo on this approach is attached here for your reference.)
The SEAS Ad-Hoc Committee for Online Education has been tasked with providing information, training sessions, resources, and other support to help instructors prepare for the Fall semester. Towards this goal, the committee has organized a mini-conference on Teaching Online/Blended/HyFlex courses. This conference will be held Wednesday, June 3rd, 11am-2pm EDT. The agenda will consist of a keynote session followed by two breakout sessions (each 45 minutes). The keynote session will discuss tentative Fall teaching plans and the topic of student engagement. Each of the breakout sessions focuses on issues specific to a type of overall challenge or course type (e.g., project-based courses, coding courses, etc.). The goal of these breakout sessions is to provide a forum for faculty to share ideas and effective practices and to discuss challenges and possible solutions.
I strongly encourage you to attend the conference and participate in the breakout sessions -- I have no doubt that you will find it both useful and inspirational. To register for the conference, sign up for a breakout session, and find more information on each session, please visit the conference webpage. The sessions will be recorded, but please attend the conference in real-time if at all possible.
Thanks for your participation and for everything you are doing to ensure educational excellence regardless of what the pandemic throws our way!
John Lach
Dean - School of Engineering and Applied Science
Professor - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The George Washington University
(202) 994-6080
[email protected]
https://www.seas.gwu.edu/john-lach