COVID-19, a novel corona virus, has most schools adopting an online teaching model and this is causing stress for students, parents, and teachers but the fear of the unknown can be alleviated with some help from the experts.

Natalie B. Milman, professor of educational technology and director of the Educational Technology Leadership Program at the George Washington University. Her research focuses on the design of instruction and models for the effective leadership and integration of technology at all academic levels; online student support needs, engagement, and learning.

You can find some of her suggestions for remote teaching on her Twitter feed here:
Distance Learning
Emergency Remote Teaching

Milman’s most recent book is entitled, “Teaching Models: Designing Instruction for 21st Century Learners.” She has appeared as a guest on the GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development produced podcast, EdFix discussing the educational technology, online learning, and the digital access divide.

Excerpt from a recent interview Dr. Milman did with GW Today.

GW Today: What advice would you give students and instructors for dealing with the shift to online learning this semester?

Dr. Milman: Well, first of all, it’s important to stress that this is not normal online education. It’s what I call “emergency remote teaching and learning.” Even programs that were already being taught online, like mine, have to consider how to adapt to these altered circumstances. One hope of mine is that this experience doesn’t turn them off from online education!

With that understanding that this is where we are—in an emergency—communication is going to be really important, both between instructors and students and between peers. Instructors should be letting students know what to expect, how frequently they’re communicating and what their expectations are. For instance, they can suggest how often students should check their email or Blackboard announcements.