Digital Detours
One-Day Strategies for Teaching Online
These quick, impactful teaching activities are designed to meet the challenges of short-notice transitions to online instruction due to unplanned campus closures (e.g. inclement weather, power outages, or other). Spanning disciplines, these learning activities include innovative GenAI-powered tasks, community-based explorations, and computer-mediated exercises, offering SRU faculty a toolkit for employing quick instructional activities that foster engagement, critical thinking, and real-world connections.
By combining flexibility with academic rigor, these strategies will empower you to turn unexpected disruptions into opportunities for enriched learning. Whether students are exploring their local environment, collaborating virtually, or leveraging cutting-edge AI, these activities encourage adaptability, creativity, and meaningful engagement with course content.
The activities below are designed to provide inspiration for your own creations. Feel free to tweak, adjust, and customize these activities to best suit your discipline, your students, and teaching style.
General Asynchronous Learning Options:
Have a few learning activities ready to go in-case of short-notice online transitions; prepare materials that your students can access anytime and reduce pressure from real-time engagement.
Recorded Lectures: Use tools like Zoom or PowerPoint to pre-record lessons.Discussion Boards: Use D2L for topic discussions.Readings with Reflections: Assign readings with short response prompts.
Tip: Clearly outline deadlines and time management expectations for asynchronous work.
Simplified Synchronous Sessions:
Make live sessions shorter and more focused to combat online fatigue.
Break Out Rooms: Use Zoom or Teams for small-group activities or peer reviews.Interactive Polling: Utilize Poll Everywhere to increase engagement.Mini-Lectures: Deliver key concepts in brief, interactive presentations (10–15 mins)
One-Shot, Online INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Non-Discipline-Specific
Online Debates or Fishbowl Discussions
How it Works: Split students into small groups with opposing views on a topic or assign roles (e.g., Pro/Con). Use breakout rooms for preparation.Platform: Zoom or Teams with breakout roomsBonus: Use PollEverywhere at the end for a class vote. Objective: Critical thinking and real-time engagement.
Jigsaw Activity
How it Works: Divide students into "expert" groups to research subtopics. Then, shuffle them into mixed groups to teach each other.Platform: Zoom breakout rooms and MS Word shared doc for collaborative notes Objective: Active learning and peer teaching.
Case Study Analysis
How it Works: Present a case study (text or video), and students analyze it in small groups before reporting back.Platform: D2L for case materials + Zoom breakout rooms for discussion Objective: Apply theory to practice in a real-world context.
Scavenger Hunt or Web Quest
How it Works: Create a list of questions or tasks that students must answer using online resources. Teams submit responses via Microsoft Forms.Platform: Microsoft Forms or Teams Chat Objective: Fun and fast-paced exploration of concepts.
Photo Walk & Reflection
Activity: Students take a walk in their neighborhood and capture 3–5 photos related to a course theme (e.g., urban planning, environmental changes, art in public spaces).Platform: Students upload their photos to the D2L Discussion Board with short captions explaining their relevance.Objective: Develop observation skills and engage with their environment through a course lens.
Humanities
Creative Writing with AI Prompts
Focus: Independent Learning. Using GenAI Activity: Students use an AI tool (like ChatGPT) to generate creative writing prompts inspired by a historical period, literary style, or philosophical question. They then write a short story, poem, or essay using the prompt. Platform: ChatGPT or similar tools Objective: Encourage creative thinking and explore genre-specific writing techniques.
Literary Analysis Challenge
Focus: Collaborative Learning. Critical Thinking. Activity: Provide a short story, poem, or excerpt. Students annotate the text using a collaborative tool (e.g., Hypothesis) and identify key themes or stylistic devices. Platforms: Hypothesis, Micorsoft Word collaborative document Objective: Practice close reading and critical analysis.
Digital Archive Exploration
Focus: Independent Learning. Research Activity: Students browse a digital archive (e.g., Library of Congress, Bailey Databases) to find a primary source related to the course topic. They analyze its context, purpose, and significance in a short, written response. Platforms: Library of Congress Digital Collections, D2L Dropbox Objective: Develop research skills and connect historical materials to course themes.
Business
AI-Powered Marketing Campaign
Focus: Independent Learning. GenAI Activity: Students input a hypothetical business idea into an AI tool to generate ad copy, social media captions, or email campaigns. They critique the output and refine it to better suit their target market. Platform: Jasper, ChatGPT, or Canva’s Magic Write feature Objective: Learn to evaluate and adapt AI-generated content for effective marketing.
Virtual Company Case Study
Focus: Independent Learning. Real-World Application. Activity: Assign students to research a company’s online presence (e.g., website, social media, news coverage) and analyze its marketing or branding strategy and write a brief report. Platforms: Company websites, LinkedIn, D2L Dropbox. Objective: Apply marketing and branding concepts to real-world examples.
Consumer Experience Study
Focus: Community-Based Learning. Activity: Students evaluate a customer experience at a retail or service business, noting factors like layout, customer service, and branding. Follow-Up: In the next class session, students present findings, with recommendations for improvement based on course principles. Objective: Apply customer behavior theories to practical scenarios.
Virtual Entrepreneurial Pitch
Focus: Independent Learning. Effective Communication Activity: Students use PowerPoint to create a 3-slide pitch for a hypothetical product or service. The pitch should include the idea, target audience, and marketing strategy. The students record their pitch using voice-over PowerPoint Platforms: PowerPoint. D2L Discussion Board. Objective: Foster creativity and apply marketing principles in a practical format.
Social Sciences
AI-Generated Survey Analysis
Focus: Independent Learning. GenAI Activity: Students use an AI tool to create a hypothetical survey on a social issue (e.g., mental health, voting behavior). They then predict how respondents might answer and analyze the social implications of their findings. Platform: ChatGPT or other survey-assistive AI tools Objective: Explore survey design and social behavior analysis through simulation.
Policy Analysis Brief
Focus: Independent Learning. Critical Thinking. Activity: Students select a current policy issue (e.g., healthcare, education, or climate change) from a reputable source and write a brief analysis connecting it to course theories or concepts. Platforms: Government websites, Brookings Institution, or The Pew Research Center. D2L Dropbox Objective: Apply theoretical frameworks to analyze real-world policies.
Social Media Analysis
Focus: Independent Learning. Critical Thinking. Activity: Students analyze a social media trend, hashtag, or campaign, focusing on its sociological or psychological implications. Platforms: Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok (public accounts only) Objective: Examine digital communication and cultural trends.
Cultural Observation Assignment
Focus: Community-Based Learning. Activity: Students observe social interactions in a public space (e.g., park, mall, café) to analyze cultural norms, communication styles, or group dynamics. Follow-Up: Submit field notes or share insights with peers in a discussion. Objective: Practice ethnographic observation and connect findings to sociological or anthropological theories.
Science
AI for Research Summarization
Focus: Independent Learning. GenAI Activity: Students select a scientific article from a reputable journal, then use an AI tool to generate a summary or key takeaways. They compare the AI's output to their own summary, noting strengths and weaknesses. Platform: ChatGPT or Scholarcy Objective: Build critical thinking skills by evaluating AI's effectiveness in synthesizing scientific content.
Virtual Ecosystem Exploration
Focus: Independent or Collaborative Learning. Activity: Students use Google Earth or another virtual platform to explore a specific ecosystem (e.g., coral reefs, rainforests). They document key features, challenges, and conservation efforts in a short reflection. Platforms: Google Earth, World Wildlife Fund websites, D2L Dropbox or Discussion. Objective: Enhance understanding of ecological principles and human-environment interactions.
Science News Review
Focus: Independent Learning. Critical Thinking Activity: Assign students to find and summarize a recent scientific article or discovery from reputable sources. They analyze its significance and relate it to course content. Platforms: ScienceDaily, Nature, or National Geographic, D2L Dropbox or Discussion. Objective: Connect course concepts to current scientific developments.
AI-Assisted Science News Critique
Focus: Independent Learning. GenAI. Critical Thinking. Activity: Students select a recent scientific breakthrough or environmental issue covered in the news. They use AI to summarize the article and then analyze its validity, significance, and connection to course material in a short written response. Students could critique the AI's summary, making adjustments to enhance the quality of the information presented. Platform: ChatGPT, Google Scholar (for finding articles), scientific news sites like ScienceDaily, D2L Dropbox or Discussion. Objective: Engage students in critical thinking by having them evaluate AI-generated content and connect it to course concepts and current scientific events.
