Need to teach online? Remember that there are many alternatives to presenting your class in Zoom. Production value matters to engage online learners. Here are a few ideas of how to “mix it up” in this time of crisis. (thread) #OnlineTeaching 1/
1. Don’t force yourself to produce content. There is a lot of good content on the web that was produced professionally & is more engaging than something shot with a webcam. Consider a role in which you help guide students learning journey through such content ...
If you are teaching a more conceptual class, you can rely on online video courses, like those curated in course sites like thegreatcoursesplus.com or masterclass.com or even ted.com, YouTube, and audio courses. Many scholars already have lectures online.
Use the videoconferencing time for critique/discussion around the shared material. I understand that this content may not go to the depth that many people like, but students will probably retain more from engaging content, than from “deeper” & unengaging webcam video.
I also know some of these resources are not free, but have prices comparable to that of textbooks (especially if the subscription is only for a few months). In other words, think of preparing a course as a sequence of videos in which you facilitate discussing them.
2. But what about courses that are deeply technical/mathematical? In that case, I suggest a similar approach, but centered on a textbook instead of video. I understand that people have lecture notes that pull material from multiple sources. If those lecture notes are
written down in a way you can share them, good. But if they are not, following a textbook closely may be a better way to focus in an online environment. Again, online time should be used to solve questions/discuss. The key is for everyone to see the same content before the class.
3. There is also a combined approach, in which lecture time is used to present 5-10 mins of content & setup a video. Cutting up the low production value content (videoconferencing) with high production value content (professional video) will help students concentrate better.
The higher quality content will give students a rest from the monotony of the webcam content, and will then, allow them to “tolerate” another 5-10 minutes of more “boring” content. (Sorry, this may be sad but true).
4. Of course, if you have a university with a high quality film studio (I know some schools have a five camera studio streaming setup), this advice may be unnecessary. But for those who are not that lucky, I hope these tips help.
