active teaching & learning in online synchronous sessions
TRANSCRIPT
Beyond the basics
ACTIVE LEARNING INSYNCHRONOUS
ONLINE SESSIONS
Faculty Jim Leaman, FacultyBusiness & Econ Dept, Eastern Mennonite University
Steve Webster, Adjunct FacultyBusiness Dept, Bluffton University
Facilitator Brian Gumm, Online Education Design Specialist
Eastern Mennonite University
DISCUSSION PARTNERS
Advantages to synchronous online sessions
The learning curve & early lessons learned
Growing painsBest Practices & Protocols
TOPICS
Building a case
ADVANTAGES TO SYNCHRONOUS
DiscussionBest view of peoples’ facesText chat
Guest speakers from anywhere in the world
Polling - Many ideas shared at once, from everyone!
ADVANTAGES TO SYNCHRONOUS
Recorded/Archived SessionsAbsent students, recorded mini-lectures/flipped
Group Annotation/WhiteboardingMulti-modal engagement (chat, polling)Convenient and cost-saving
location, time, connecting with tutors
ADVANTAGES TO SYNCHRONOUS
ADVANTAGES TO SYNCHRONOUS
Our tool: Zoom.us (or simply “Zoom”)Maximum participant capacity: 50Simple user interfaceSuperior audio/video call quality
ADVANTAGES TO SYNCHRONOUS
Three possible modes: speaker view, gallery view, share-screen Gallery View (we’ve found this most helpful for dynamic
discussion) Everyone sees everyone’s face – halo around active speaker Raising hands either electronically or physically in video feed Chat feature gets more students involved and provides an additional channel
Quieter students are more likely to use chat; everyone has ways to express themselves
Dual-channel discussion, with each informing the other channel (adds extra dimension)
Chat log saved for later review; I use this help guide subsequent coverage/classes Allows guest speakers to join from anywhere!
Zoom sessions can be recorded and archived for re-viewing
ADVANTAGES TO SYNCHRONOUS
Early lessons learned
THE LEARNING CURVE
Faculty have tendency at first to try to replicate onsite style to online
There may be a requisite period of adaptation
Technology tools make a difference Find products best suited to specific needs (Zoom, Socrative)
Internet bandwidth makes a difference DSL connections are workable, but marginal (accommodation)
Audio is the most vexing and nagging problem to solve Headsets with boom, noise-cancelling mics Mics always in the open position (unmuted)
THE LEARNING CURVE
An adjustment for everyone (faculty & students)Skepticism acceptance excitement
Training and orientation Period of gaining comfort Shifting paradigms, understanding, methods Redesigning course content and pedagogy New technologies shuffle the deck…next round
THE LEARNING CURVE
Continuing to improve
BEST PRACTICES & PROTOCOLS
Identify & solve technology problems early Ensure adequate hardware and bandwidth, and
test itEstablish “netiquette” for sessions
Eye contact: Looking directly at camera No eating Minimize/eliminate background noise
Provide non-active content (lectures) into recorded format, keep live/synchronous time active
BEST PRACTICES & PROTOCOLS
Encourage multi-modal discussion (text chat, live discussion)
Plan a mix of activities: 15-20 minute segmentsTake breaks in long sessionsCultivate a community of learning
Small group breakout sessions “Water cooler time” during breaks or “Happy hour” after class
BEST PRACTICES & PROTOCOLS
Any others that you would add?Email or comment!
[email protected]@OnlineEd_EMU
emu.edu/now/online-ed