Thread by @JenniferSpicer4

1/ Have your #VirtualTeaching sessions started to feel like “Death by Powerpoint” with crickets 🦗 in the audience?

Then read this #TweetorialTuesday #MedEdTwagTeam thread on integrating interactive #TechTools into your #VirtualTeaching sessions

2/ (And if you want some tips to liven up your actual Powerpoints, check out this @TEDTalks by @davidjpphillips)

3/ Check out @GStetsonMD’s #MedEdTwagTeam tweetorial from last week on using virtual whiteboards and other collaborative tools if you missed it

He included some great low tech options too!

https://twitter.com/GStetsonMD/status/1280551901092892674

4/ But this week, we will go beyond sharing screens & whiteboards and discuss how to integrate interactive #TechTools like chats, polls, file sharing, annotation, breakout rooms…

And even non-Zoom tools like Padlet – my new favorite

5/ First, let’s discuss my favorite feature:

The breakout room!

It's available in many videoconferencing platforms, but I will focus on Zoom since I'm most familiar with it

If you need to activate this feature on your account, see my prior thread:

https://twitter.com/JenniferSpicer4/status/1272962531984891904

6/ Breakout rooms are a great way to turn any session (no matter the size) into an interactive discussion.

Hosts can create as many breakout rooms as they want and either manually or automatically assign learners.

7/ While in breakout rooms, learners can work in groups just as they would if they were in their own Zoom session (it has the same functionality).

Each group can work in a collaborative document, like GoogleDocs or even Padlet (image below) that you can monitor as the host.

8/ While students work in groups, you can monitor the shared document to see how far along learners are with their assignment.

As the host, you can also join any breakout room that you want. Only co-hosts can move between rooms.

9/ If you want to send a message to all rooms, you can time in a message and “broadcast” it to all.

For example, I use this to let groups know how much time they have left.

10/ Just recognize that you only have the ability to create and manage breakout rooms if you are the host.

Co-hosts can move between rooms, but they cannot create or open/close rooms.

11/ Beyond breakout rooms, there are many other tools that you can use to make a session interactive within the main room (without using breakouts).

✅Chats
✅Polling
✅Annotations

12/ Most people are familiar w/ the chat function. I use it to:

✅Crowdsource questions
✅Allow classroom discussion of a topic
✅Provide real-time feedback to instructors

It helps to have a moderator watching the chat while another individual talks/teaches.

13/ Chat moderators can then either:

✅Invite individuals to “un-mute” & provide questions/comments
✅Summarize content in the chat to the entire class
✅Respond to comments by typing in the chat

14/ Polling provides the opportunity to anonymously poll all participants.

Zoom has a polling option that allows only multiple-choice questions.

External polling programs, like PollEverywhere, can be used for more advanced questions.

15/ Lastly, all participants can annotate the screen if you have this feature turned on.

You can ask participants to type things in on a whiteboard or even circle (or otherwise annotate) your screen.

Just remember to “clear annotations” before moving to another slide 😁

16/ So, in summary, move beyond Powerpoint in your #VirtualTeaching and consider using the following tools:

✅Breakout rooms
✅Collaborative tools (e.g. GoogleDocs, Padlet)
✅Chats
✅Polling
✅Annotations

17/ Thanks for joining!

Keep an eye out for @GStetsonMD’s #MedEdTwagTeam #TweetorialTuesday next week (7/21/2020) on choosing the right tool based on the type of teaching session.

Does anyone else have tips to share?