ABSTRACT
Early in 2020, universities were forced to make a quick and radical shift from face-to-face learning to a fully online experience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter explores the underlying factors that might produce or condone microaggressions in remote learning environments. By connecting with our own experience teaching a course in diversity and inclusion fully online, we ponder the implications of discussion rooms in particular and our desire to create brave spaces for interaction. As well, we draw from current literature on microaggressions in the online environment to offer concrete strategies such as Souza's (2020) Open the Front Door (OTFD) as a tool for dealing with microaggressive statements and posts. We also explore the role of accepting failure and embracing vulnerability in order to rehumanize the online learning environment.
