dventures A in Virtual Learning
by MARYA JONES BARLOW
FACULTY HAVE A FEW TRICKS UP THEIR SLEEVES TO MAKE ONLINE INSTRUCTION IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 FUN, FORMATIVE AND FAIR.
W
HEN
CLASSES
SHIFTED
online last spring, CSUCI Performing Arts faculty members Heather Castillo and MiRi Park faced a challenge unique even among educators: How do you teach students to dance when all they’ve got to work with is four square feet of space and a smartphone? Fortunately, Castillo and Park had faced that problem before. Through wildfires, campus closures, and other disruptions, they’ve become adept at keeping CSUCI students dancing online. In the COVID-19 pandemic, they saw an opportunity not only to improve their skills, but also to share knowledge with a global community of educators and dancers trying to navigate virtual learning. In a published guide, online workshops and webinars, the duo imparts their trials, tribulations and tips. They launched CORontine Corps, an online space for dancers from around the world to share and archive performances and virtual education best practices. They also helped start the CSU Dance Collective, a collaboration to foster virtual
8 CHANNEL MAGAZINE
creative exchange between all CSU dance programs. Their resources were so popular they received thousands of views on the web, won endorsement from the Dance Studies Association, and were adopted by universities around the world. In August, Castillo and Park earned recognition from the CSU Chancellor, who honored them with a 2020 Faculty Innovation and Leadership Award, recognizing extraordinary leadership that advances student success. “It was an unintended special honor,” said Castillo. “I was well supported at CSUCI to teach and mentor others as a Teaching and Learning Innovation faculty fellow. MiRi and I had a little bit of a head start in online instruction and wanted to use it to help the entire dance community.” Castillo, an assistant professor and veteran professional dancer and choreographer, teaches students from a makeshift studio (formerly her children’s playroom) in her Thousand Oaks home. She intentionally made the space small, so her movements are restricted to match those of students joining class from cramped bedrooms and hallways. Two cameras and a large wall mirror capture her
