Greetings from Miami, Florida, COVID19 hotspot. Yesterday, 33% of those tested had a positive result. Although my university still plans to have some residential instruction as of the time of this writing, most of us are preparing to go fully online at some point. In Part I,   Part II, and Part III, I provided perspectives from experts in learning. I'm still gathering that information.

This week, however, I spoke to the real experts — students. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to hear from students studying business and human rights from all over the world courtesy of the Teaching Business and Human Rights Forum. I've also been talking to research assistants and other current and former students. Here's a summary of their conclusions:

• We know that Spring was hard for everyone and that everyone is still learning how to teach online. Do not be worried about making mistakes. 
• Don't assume that we are all digital natives. Some of us are older students or not used to the technology that you have decided to use. Make sure that the interface is intuitive and use tech in fun and interesting ways. (One professor used Jeopardy online and students loved it).
• Be flexible with assignments. Many of us are dealing with health and financial issues and we will need extensions. Some students will be in different time zones if you're requiring group work. It's not business as usual.
• If you have teaching assistants, have them monitor the chat functions if you use it and have them pop into breakout rooms (if you're using Zoom). TAs can be very helpful, especially in large classes.
• Add a COVID component to the lessons if you can. It helps us make sense of things and provides real-world context to what we are doing.
• Offer breaks. Time moves much slower in an online class.
• Use guest speakers who wouldn't be able to visit class. It makes class more interesting and allows us to hear from thought leaders from around the world. 
• Consider using Slack or other tools other than for communications and group work.
• Use screen sharing during synchronous classes and allow others to share when appropriate.
• Make use of the chat function during synchronous classes. It keeps our attention and makes sure that we are engaged. 
• Do not just talk over powerpoint slides. Many students simply download the slides if they found that professors were reading the slides word for word without adding new content.
• Make sure the slides have enough information to be useful. Some professors put only a few words on a slide and this doesn't facilitate learning.
• Use breakout rooms often and appoint a reporter to inform the class of the room's conclusions. Make sure that everyone understand the assignment before sending students off to breakout rooms. 
• Breakout rooms help build community and encourage shy students to speak more. 
• Communicate rubrics for assignments clearly and often. Let us know exactly what you expect us to learn in each module. Make the objectives clear. 
• Try to forecast what you're going to teach and do a summary at the end of the lesson, if possible. 
• Require us to keep our cameras on. We will pay more attention.
• Keep us engaged with polls, quizzes, and surveys.
• Post slides in advance if you can for synchronous classes so that we can take better notes or annotate them.
• Consider a WhatsApp group or other communication mechanism to share newspaper articles or current events. Make it optional for students to participate.
• Consider having the class watch a movie in class instead  of on our own. It helped build community.
• Please do not do a 6 hour lecture over powerpoint. 
• Make sure to use powerpoint. Even a short lecture is hard to watch if it's just the professor sitting there. 
• Pay special attention to your foreign students, who may be living in a different reality. Consider having small group office hours for them. 
• Depending on the time of the day, invite students to have a coffee hour via Zoom.
• Make sure to have virtual office hours. Students will need to feel a connection outside of class. Also consider coming to class early and opening the Zoom (or other room) early and staying after class as you would in person. 
• Videos should not be longer than 10 minutes.
• The length of the video matters less if the professor is engaging. Some of the most engaging professors in person look dead on camera. Their lack of enthusiasm for teaching online comes through. 
• It's nice to have good looking slides, but if the professor isn't enthusiastic, it doesn't matter how good the slides look.
• Use whiteboards, graphs, or diagrams if possible if you're explaining complex topics. This is really important for visual learners. If you used to use the board in person, try to find a way to do it online. 
• Group projects are ok as long as there is built in accountability. We are ok working with others but it's harder online and worse if everyone gets the same grade and there is no penalty for students who don't do any work. 
• Show videos within videos for asynchronous and synchronous classes. You can stop the video in class and ask questions, just as you would if we were in person. 
• Make sure to stop for questions regularly. Remember there's a lag when people unmute or as you look to see who is raising a hand. 
• Ask for our feedback. We all want to make online learning work.

Next week, I will add more from the teaching experts. Everyone stay safe and healthy.