Teaching During the Pandemic

I had so many preconceived ideas about what it would be like to teach online. I was completely convinced that the loss of physical presence would make the entire endeavor suboptimal. As a result of completing a full semester online, I am now more convinced that the success of a course depends so much on the connection between Professor and student. So this post is a shout-out to all the students who came regularly to my classes last semester, shared responses, and gave their best to make the semester work. As I look towards the Spring semester, I am much more optimistic that the connections needed to create a productive learning environment do not always require in-person teaching.