Ultimately, it’s really up to you what platforms you choose to use. My advice: less is more, simple is good, and starting with what you know is best. You don’t have to be a computer ace to make it through the fall. Successful classes can run just by email and Zoom if you like.
But I will add that I found these technologies to be truly helpful in accomplishing the tasks I needed while saving me from drowning in additional emotional and intellectual labor. The time-suck of preparing for and living in teaching right now, as many of us felt in the spring, is strong amid a crisis. Perhaps we can strengthen our relationships to technology at this time as a means of helping ourselves.
For more help, I highly suggest you check out the Baruch Center for Teaching and Learning website for information about teaching online, including our Fall 2020 Prep Guide, as well as to make one-on-one appointments with CTL specialists. And if you’d like to hear more about my recent experience teaching a fully online writing course, you can check out “12 Lessons I Learned while Teaching in Summer 2020” on the Baruch Teacher’s Guide to First-Year Writing.
Wishing You Well,
Seth
Writing and Great Works Program Manager and Digital Technology Specialist for the Baruch Center for Teaching and Learning