To create some of the benefits of brief in-class free writes, you might consider assigning regular brief discussion posts for students to process their response to class, to practice skills discussed in lecture, or to accomplish other goals you rely on in-class free-writes for.

(Though, in the interest of protecting your workload, remember: you can give these assignments the same level of reading/commenting that you give in-class freewrites -- which may mean they are merely completion grades!)

Two strategies:

Metacognitive blog entries: You might assign a weekly blog entry in which students write about their progress in the class / journey toward the portfolio. These assignments can help you keep track of what students are understanding and where they're struggling, which can help you adapt your course plan.

Sample question from Emily Brauer: Reflect on the reading and writing you've done this week. What was difficult? What was easy? What was unexpected? What did you learn about your writing process and/or writing skills? Write at least three paragraphs exploring your writing.

Lecture responses or activities: You can ask students to apply lessons or try writing strategies discussed in video conference sessions or brief lecture videos by giving them short writing tasks to complete afterwards.