The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic placed enormous pressure on educators, administrators, and technical staff to respond rapidly to migrate from face-to-face (f-2-f) modes of instruction to some form of virtual instruction. Unfortunately, the sudden nature of the pandemic caught many off-guard, resulting in what has been referred to as “emergency remote learning” – a reactive response that was not well suited to now well establish best practices for online learning. This call for papers is designed to provide examples of best practices for multi-faceted geography learning scenarios and offer vignettes for issues of connectivity, equity, technical training, administrative support, and guidelines for designing deep online learning experiences. It will also provide lists of hardware and software that support the virtual learning experience and, in many instances, enhance it well beyond what the traditional classroom setting can provide. Some of the articles will be based on pure and applied pedagogical research while others will offer conclusions based on years of successful experience in online course design. Still others will offer commentary that both points out the difficulties of teaching geography online and illustrates strategies to overcome the challenges.
This solicitation asks for participation from those who might be considered experts in online course design, others who are experimenting with methods and approaches to improve the online course environment, and those who were forced into the online learning environment with no warning and no preparation. The experiences of all will be used to demonstrate the state-of-the-art in online learning for the myriad types and levels of geography education and provide solutions for those whose first foray into online learning left them in a state of confusion and skepticism whether online learning could provide learning experiences comparable to that in the physical classroom. Ultimately, the issue will act as a resource for those willing to take the time and energy that will result in not just adequate, but superior learning experiences for what is sure to be a new world of education in post COVID 19 times.
