{"id":2458,"date":"2019-05-06T14:38:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T21:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/?p=2458"},"modified":"2019-05-06T14:38:06","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T21:38:06","slug":"faculty-build-empathy-as-online-learners-themselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspire\/2019\/05\/06\/faculty-build-empathy-as-online-learners-themselves\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty Build Empathy as Online Learners Themselves"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDiversity is our world\u2019s greatest asset, and inclusion is our biggest challenge. And the way that we are going to address that challenge is by extending our empathy.\u201d<\/b> -Jutta Treviranus, Founder of the Inclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Decorative<\/p>\n

Sure, you\u2019ve been teaching online courses for a few terms or years now, but have you ever been an online student? Many current faculty members earned their degrees in traditional face-to-face settings and have learned how to migrate their courses to the online environment by using research-based best practices and support from instructional designers and media experts. However, are there benefits to experiencing this fledgling educational modality from the perspective of the online student? I argue that faculty who challenge themselves to take an online course experience both personal and professional benefits and become more empathic, inclusive, creative, and reflective.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits for Faculty Members<\/span><\/h1>\n

Challenge yourself to try out something completely different than your specialization or discipline: Are you a STEM professor who has a <\/span>screenplay idea<\/span><\/a>? Perhaps you have a trip to the French Riviera on your bucket list, or your college Spanish is rusty. Try a <\/span>foreign language course<\/span><\/a> this summer. Are you a humanities professor who is curious about the composition of the soil in your garden? Find out about the dirt in your yard as a <\/span>soil science<\/span><\/a> student.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some benefits to consider:<\/span><\/p>\n