Speculative Futures

Collaborate to compose a micro-narrative speculating on a sustainable future for Sapelo Island, Georgia. Consider the resources available intangible, semi-tangible, and tangible – the landscape, the people’s history and culture, their knowledge, the organizations and buildings and infrastructure...

Creative Assignment Ideas for Teaching at a Distance: End-of-term assignments

Towards the end of the semester, ideally before assigning final papers and projects, ask students to read back through all of the posts that they have contributed to online discussions in the class and write a reflection on their own work...

Creative Assignment Ideas for Teaching at a Distance: Assignments students can do with their local communities

Have students sit down with a family member, friend, or other person not in this course. Ask them to teach this person either a particular concept from the course or one of their choice...

Creative Assignment Ideas for Teaching at a Distance: Asynchronous class discussion methods

This will be likely the most widely used mode of asynchronous class discussion in an online setting, using a learning management system (like Google Clasroom or similar), blog, or other platform. Instructors will want to provide clear guidelines for students about when posts and responses are due (date and time)...

Creative Assignment Ideas for Teaching at a Distance: Assignments students can do with other members of the class

Type or paste a passage of text related to the course into google docs1, and assign a group of students to annotate it using the comment feature (Insert → Comment). Be sure to share the link with the students (there is a share button on the upper right of the GD window), making them all editors on the document...

Creative Assignment Ideas for Teaching at a Distance: Additional Resources

Prompt for Reflecting on Names

Names are a key aspect to our identity. They are what we call ourselves and they often determine how we live, how we move through the world, and how we are understood or misunderstood...

Creative Assignment Ideas for Teaching at a Distance: Assignments students can do on their own

Ask students to pose, in writing, a difficult question related to the assigned reading or the course more broadly, especially one that they have struggled with (or are currently wrestling with)...