thread on shifting in-person to online teaching

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Ronald Mitchell

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Mar 13, 2020, 7:34:50 PM3/13/20
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FWIW, to start a thread on shifting to online teaching, here are some ideas (I look forward to other people’s)

a)       Online office hours:  use your Canvas-type Chat feature. Ask your IT department how to set it up and then tell students to “Hold your question till I have answer the previous persons.” Then learn how to type fast.

b)       Powerpointing in real time: Zoom and most other apps allow screensharing, so you can can have Powerpoint on your screen, share the screen, and then give your lecture verbally in the background, going through the slides as you would if you were in the class.

c)       Powerpointing asynchronously: Use “Screen Recorder” at https://screencast-o-matic.com/screen-recorder# (or similar app) to start your Powerpoint, then launch Screen Recorder, and use your computer mic to narrate as you go through the slides.  It took me a few 5-minute trial runs to get the hang of it, but then its easy.

·         You can also do “tutorials” (I used it to teach making graphs in Excel for papers evaluating whether treaties effectively reduced pollution and overfishing).  HERE is a 5-minute video example -- Screen Recorder automatically highlights your cursor – not relevant most of the time but, in cases like this, quite helpful.

 

Gellers, Joshua

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Mar 14, 2020, 7:19:58 AM3/14/20
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Colleagues-

 

Thanks to Ron for getting this conversation started.

 

I’ve taught online for several years, went through my university’s summer-long training in distance learning, and two of my online courses are QM certified (national standard for distance education). Probably the most important best practice is to make the course easily navigable and pedagogically intelligible using scaffolding (read about the 4 types of scaffolding here). The more consistent the formatting is, the better the user experience. I organize my classes into thematic modules, each of which have separate learning objectives, assignments aligned with those learning objectives, different media (ie short videos), a quiz or two, and usually a discussion assignment that requires the student to complete readings/watch videos/listen to podcasts and respond to other student posts. Everything has a rubric that the students can see in advance. Video recordings of lectures are obviously preferable to static slides. 


To be honest, it took me a YEAR to make my first online class. The next one took a couple months (but I didn’t record lectures for it since I was pressed for time). Overall it’s not easy, but simplicity and consistency are really crucial. I feel bad for our tech people, who are going to be slammed with faculty requests for assistance with distance learning. We simply don’t have the resources to help everyone at all once.


Here are a few images of how a course might look when using best practices in distance learning (specifically the structure of a module on a given topic and then the content overview page that guides students through the module):

A screenshot of a cell phone Description automatically generated

 

A screenshot of a social media post Description automatically generated

 

 

A screenshot of a cell phone Description automatically generated

 

Best,

 

Josh

 

From: <gep...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Ronald Mitchell <rmit...@uoregon.edu>
Reply-To: "rmit...@uoregon.edu" <rmit...@uoregon.edu>
Date: Friday, March 13, 2020 at 7:34 PM
To: GEPED <gep...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [gep-ed] thread on shifting in-person to online teaching

 

FWIW, to start a thread on shifting to online teaching, here are some ideas (I look forward to other people’s)

  1. Online office hours:  use your Canvas-type Chat feature. Ask your IT department how to set it up and then tell students to “Hold your question till I have answer the previous persons.” Then learn how to type fast.
  1. Powerpointing in real time: Zoom and most other apps allow screensharing, so you can can have Powerpoint on your screen, share the screen, and then give your lecture verbally in the background, going through the slides as you would if you were in the class.
  1. Powerpointing asynchronously: Use “Screen Recorder” at https://screencast-o-matic.com/screen-recorder# (or similar app) to start your Powerpoint, then launch Screen Recorder, and use your computer mic to narrate as you go through the slides.  It took me a few 5-minute trial runs to get the hang of it, but then its easy.
    • You can also do “tutorials” (I used it to teach making graphs in Excel for papers evaluating whether treaties effectively reduced pollution and overfishing).  HERE is a 5-minute video example -- Screen Recorder automatically highlights your cursor – not relevant most of the time but, in cases like this, quite helpful.

     

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    Maria H Ivanova

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    Mar 15, 2020, 9:41:42 AM3/15/20
    to josh.g...@unf.edu, GEPED
    Dear colleagues, our university leadership sent this resource, which might be useful for all. 
    Maria Ivanova 


    From:     Managing Editors, The Chronicle <edi...@chronicleaccounts.com>
    Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2020 9:07 AM
    To: Rita Kiki Edozie <RitaKik...@umb.edu>
    Subject: The coronavirus and your campus
    Dear reader,

    As an alarming new coronavirus spreads, higher education has borne the brunt of its global and local impact. Colleges and universities are facing difficult, often excruciating decisions: Will we close our campus? If so, what happens to students with nowhere to go? How can we move a full catalog of courses online? How to plan for an ever-more-uncertain future?

    To answer those questions, everyone on and around your campus needs to be thoroughly informed about the situation on the ground. That’s where we come in. Our mission, at a time of crisis and confusion, is to show you the full picture of how higher ed is affected — and how it’s responding. We’re committed to providing the information and analysis you need, in the moment.

    As the crisis deepens, The Chronicle is providing free access to our breaking-news updates. 

    We invite you to explore our complete coverage of the coronavirus, including other tools and resources you might find useful:
     This is a critical moment, and we’ll keep working to make sure you get the information you need to respond effectively.

    How can we help? Let us know.

    Sincerely, 

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    On Mar 14, 2020, at 7:20 AM, Gellers, Joshua <josh.g...@unf.edu> wrote:

    

    [EXTERNAL SENDER]

    Colleagues-

     

    Thanks to Ron for getting this conversation started.

     

    I’ve taught online for several years, went through my university’s summer-long training in distance learning, and two of my online courses are QM certified (national standard for distance education). Probably the most important best practice is to make the course easily navigable and pedagogically intelligible using scaffolding (read about the 4 types of scaffolding here). The more consistent the formatting is, the better the user experience. I organize my classes into thematic modules, each of which have separate learning objectives, assignments aligned with those learning objectives, different media (ie short videos), a quiz or two, and usually a discussion assignment that requires the student to complete readings/watch videos/listen to podcasts and respond to other student posts. Everything has a rubric that the students can see in advance. Video recordings of lectures are obviously preferable to static slides. 


    To be honest, it took me a YEAR to make my first online class. The next one took a couple months (but I didn’t record lectures for it since I was pressed for time). Overall it’s not easy, but simplicity and consistency are really crucial. I feel bad for our tech people, who are going to be slammed with faculty requests for assistance with distance learning. We simply don’t have the resources to help everyone at all once.


    Here are a few images of how a course might look when using best practices in distance learning (specifically the structure of a module on a given topic and then the content overview page that guides students through the module):

    <image001.png>

     

    <image002.png>

     

     

    <image003.png>

     

    Best,

     

    Josh

     

    From: <gep...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Ronald Mitchell <rmit...@uoregon.edu>
    Reply-To: "rmit...@uoregon.edu" <rmit...@uoregon.edu>
    Date: Friday, March 13, 2020 at 7:34 PM
    To: GEPED <gep...@googlegroups.com>
    Subject: [gep-ed] thread on shifting in-person to online teaching

     

    FWIW, to start a thread on shifting to online teaching, here are some ideas (I look forward to other people’s)

    1. Online office hours:  use your Canvas-type Chat feature. Ask your IT department how to set it up and then tell students to “Hold your question till I have answer the previous persons.” Then learn how to type fast.
    2. Powerpointing in real time: Zoom and most other apps allow screensharing, so you can can have Powerpoint on your screen, share the screen, and then give your lecture verbally in the background, going through the slides as you would if you were in the class.
    3. Powerpointing asynchronously: Use “Screen Recorder” at https://screencast-o-matic.com/screen-recorder# (or similar app) to start your Powerpoint, then launch Screen Recorder, and use your computer mic to narrate as you go through the slides.  It took me a few 5-minute trial runs to get the hang of it, but then its easy.
      • You can also do “tutorials” (I used it to teach making graphs in Excel for papers evaluating whether treaties effectively reduced pollution and overfishing).  HERE is a 5-minute video example -- Screen Recorder automatically highlights your cursor – not relevant most of the time but, in cases like this, quite helpful.

     

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    Hayley Stevenson

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    Mar 16, 2020, 9:31:44 AM3/16/20
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    Colleagues, 

    I´m preparing for my first online class on Wednesday. Our university doesn´t want us to record the classes, so it is all real time.

    Does anyone know if Zoom allows you to have a split screen, one half showing your Powerpoint/screen, and one half showing yourself speaking? I cannot find this function. I think it is very hard to pay attention to audio+PPT without actually seeing the person speaking. 

    Many thanks - and to Ron for launching the thread. 
    Hayley 

    To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/FF85203F-7625-409C-8049-C11EDA4A5BE0%40unf.edu.


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    Aysem Mert

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    Mar 16, 2020, 9:36:54 AM3/16/20
    to hstev...@utdt.edu, GEPED

    Hi Hayley,
    Quick note about split screen: Not to my knowledge. Zoom allows each user to split the screen as they wish, so yiu don't necessarily command the students' screens. (Though I think Skype had this function when I used it about 4 years ago.)
    One solution could be placing your camera feed into the ppt. Or you can go back and forth between the ppt and the camera input. Finally, you can try to stand in front of the ppt and speak to your audience.
    I hope this helps.
    Best wishes,
    Ayşem

    Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

    Dana R Fisher

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    Mar 16, 2020, 9:59:55 AM3/16/20
    to aysem...@statsvet.su.se, hstev...@utdt.edu, GEPED
    Here's a great cheat sheet on Zoom that might help: 
    ---
    Dana R. Fisher, Ph.D.
    New Book: AMERICAN RESISTANCE 
    Director, Program for Society and the Environment
    Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland
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    3834 Campus Drive
    College Park, MD  20742
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