Law Commons^™

Teaching Law Online: Yesterday And Today, But Tomorrow Never Knows, Ira Steven Nathenson

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Although the role of “online” in legal education has grown over the past several decades, online teaching became a lifeline in Spring 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered classrooms nationwide. Online teaching is now necessary, but also problematic. Schools and teachers therefore need to carefully consider how to make effective use of online tools and techniques. This essay reflects on the author’s career-long experiences in online law teaching, much of which predates the COVID-19 pandemic. “With a little help” from a Beatles song or two, the essay reflects the yesterday, today, and tomorrow of online legal education. It closes with …

Taking Aim At “Fake News”: Brazil’S Legislative Agenda For Online Democracy, Jeffrey Omari

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Like the United States, Brazil has recently been plagued by a crisis in online disinformation. After the country’s 2018 presidential elections, many Brazilians experienced a shock similar to that experienced by U.S. voters after the 2016 election of Donald Trump. The shock was the result of the election of Brazil’s far-right wing Jair Bolsonaro and his striking political ascent, which was fueled by supporters who mobilized online disinformation campaigns for Bolsonaro’s competitive advantage. During Brazil’s 2018 elections, Bolsonaro’s supporters employed these disinformation campaigns, which often preyed on Brazil’s poor, to gain a voting base in disadvantaged communities. Moreover, these disinformation …

What Works In Online Teaching, Margaret Ryznar

Saint Louis University Law Journal

This Article offers lessons from an empirical study of an online Trusts & Estates course. Over three semesters, approximately 280 law students responded to a survey on what works well for them in this online course and what does not. Their top three answers in each category may help serve as guidance for faculty creating online courses.

Five Truths Learned After A Dozen Years Of Asynchronous Online Teaching, Kenneth R. Swift

Saint Louis University Law Journal

In this article the author reflects on his more than twelve years of teaching asynchronous online law school courses and shares some of his beliefs about the value and limits of asynchronous teaching. The article addresses some surprising strengths of asynchronous online courses, including how black letter case law may be more effectively taught in the online format. Additionally, the article discusses how the asynchronous online format provides opportunities to excel for students with different abilities and personalities.

The article also addresses some potential limitations in the asynchronous online format, including the challenges inherent in student group work and collaboration. …

A Foia For Facebook: Meaningful Transparency For Online Platforms, Michael Karanicolas

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Transparency has become the watchword solution for a range of social challenges, including related to content moderation and platform power. Obtaining accurate information about how platforms operate is a gatekeeping problem, which is essential to meaningful accountability and engagement with these new power structures. However, different stakeholders have vastly different ideas of what robust transparency should look like, depending on their area of focus. The platforms, for their part, have their own understanding of transparency, which is influenced by a natural drive to manage public perceptions.

This paper argues for a model of platform transparency based on better practice standards …