Thread by @profgalloway

👨🏻‍🏫👩🏽‍💻 Teaching is moving to online. Some tips from me:

1. When teaching via live video/Zoom, most important, you have to over-animate. Gestures are always good in public speaking — doubly so when teaching online. Voice, motions, intonation — amp everything up.

2. Lighting & sound — worth investing in some equipment (a ring light). Overhead lighting doesn’t look great. Have a clean background, your face at a good, straight angle. If you’re teaching a big class (>200 ppl) have someone w/you to handle tech real-time if you can.

3. Hold students accountable and engaged. Everyone's video must be visible. If you see someone tuning out, speak directly to them, get in their face. Tell them you want their faces engaged, since they can all see each other.

4. Break it up and use all tools available. After some lecture, have them respond or ask questions via chat. Have them work in small groups and come back to the big group.

5. It's generally harder to pay attention online, so reiterate a lot. Have them follow in the syllabus / outline / textbook. Repeat where you are, what you've covered, what remains to be covered. Summarize a lot. Ask for group responses / nods. Say you want them engaged.

6. It's ok if it takes a while to get comfortable at this. A little extra prep goes a long way. Have your lesson plan tight. Yes it's weird at first. A bit of effort/adjustment to master this medium will give you a lot of new freedom.

7.
Have a Goose to your Maverick—someone to handle the tech, while you fly the plane (teach).

If not an option, do mock classes with friends/family until you are facile with the tech.