Lessons Learned from Teaching an Access to Justice and Technology Course During the Pandemic #

This session includes a panel of three law faculty who taught access to justice and technology courses in the past year. We discuss why they teach this type of course - what specifically their students get out of a course that introduces them to technology within an access to justice framework. We discuss the benefits and challenges of teaching this type of course during a pandemic. Our panel had experience with completely remote, hybrid, and entirely in person classes. They also discuss the tools that they found useful and whether they would teach this type of course again. Finally they share lessons learned.

The panel was given the following questions to answer during the presentation:

1. Why teach an access to justice/technology course? What does this particular type of course give your students that they couldn't get elsewhere?
2. Did you teach this course in person before the pandemic?
3. Any benefit or particular challenges to teaching it remotely? or with a hybrid model?
4. Did you have to make changes to your teaching methodology or content?
5. What tools did you find helpful? Software platforms, lecture recording tools, scheduling tools, etc.
6. What tools do you wish you had or will use in the future?
7. Will you teach this type of course remotely again?
8. Anything else you want to tell us about your course that might be helpful to other faculty?

Panelists include:

• Amy Emerson, Director of the Law Library and Assistant Professor of Law at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
• Charles Pipins III, Associate Director for Public Services, University of Baltimore Law Library
• Alexander Rabanal, Associate Director of The Law Lab and the Public Interest Law Certificate Program, Illinois Tech Chicago-Kent College of Law
• Jessica Frank, A2J Author Project Manager, CALI