Synchronous technologies have been impacting teaching for the past few years.
- Zoom allowed for a quick and relatively easy move to online teaching
- Problems for students working in isolation
- Surge is synchronous learning
- Synchronous teaching has improved over the past year
- Some students prefer online learning – more in control, able to fit in work
- Students are missing the f2f campus experience
- Need to understand role and niche of online learning
What has to be done synchronously?
- Look to learning outcomes for guidance
- For example, what kind of communication is the skill you want your students to develop
- Quick, on your feet thinking vs. a strong argument
- Nature of the learning
- Needs of the students
- Cost, time, convenience for the instructor and for students
Live lecture should not be the predominant mode of delivery in the future
- Instructors are subject-matter experts
- Existing online content – teach students how to find it, manage it, assess it
- Instructor as guide
- Guidance and feedback
- Shift hard work to students
- Enables students to become lifelong learners
First-year students need social on-campus experience
- Stefan’s “Philisophical Quarter” – 15 minutes for students to chat at the start of classes, without the presence of the instructor
- When online, we have to work harder at building community
Blended/hybrid learning introduces students to online work
- Teaches them how to be good online learners
- Flipped classroom model can fail because students don’t do the work before class
- Teaches them the skill and confidence
SECTIONS
- Originally ACTIONS model (didn’t include students)
- The importance of each category changes over time
- O – organizational support is one of the biggest factors
Engaging students with Zoom
- 10-15 minutes max of presentation, then well-prepped, authentic breakout room activities
- Size of class matters in the tech you choose
- Zoom should just be one activity/tool to be used selectivity – LMS should be used for content delivery
- Look to increase student participation during Zoom sessions
- JP: Contact North video re: effective teaching with Zoom
- Think about moving in-class group activities to Zoom rooms
- “How to Create Active and Engaging Learning Experiences with Zoom Breakout Rooms” : recording of this webinarOther helpful videos re: Zoom: https://teachonline.ca/fr/node/101687 (Ron Owston)
- Linda Harrison – a model for online discussion forums
- Instructor sets standards, ensures LOs are met – would work for online Zoom discussions as well.
With flipped teaching
- Set clear expectations
- In-class activities should have students draw on what they did on their own time
- What can in-person activities add to learning (something they can’t get online)
Is Teaching in a Digital Age a book or a course?
- Tony wanted it to be more than a course
- He wanted some coherence, not just a set of resources
- But he concluded that Teaching in a Digital Age is a resource
Academic knowledge?
- He believes academic knowledge is distinct from other types of knowledge and that it needs to be defended