Zoom as an online teaching tool

I’d like to start posting things about digital pedagogy tips I’ve developed over the past couple years. This is hopefully the first of many. I’ve been working remotely as a contractor for a long time and have been an instructor online for a little over two years. I’m also addicted to online tutorials and my favorite bedtime story is often related to digital pedagogy.

I teach an interactive web design and coding class in person at an art college within a large university and I am an educator at an online code school for their design and web development programs. I have a BFA and MFA in Visual/Fine Arts and I’ve been a professional web developer since 1998.

I’ve got some advice to share. I hope that it helps some of you during this wacky time!

Zoom Remote Meetings

Zoom has removed the 40 minute time limit on video meetings to educators during the Covid-19 crisis, so you can use Zoom as a virtual classroom.

The feature I love most about Zoom is one that my friend and former professor Sarah Sentilles uses in her writing workshops — Breakout rooms. You choose how many people to a breakout room, and zoom does the managing. You can call students back and if they don’t return within a timely manner, you can bring them back to the main classroom yourself. It gives students the opportunity to work together on projects or assignments, and because it’s facetime and shared screens, it’s *almost* as good as real life collaboration. They also have what Sarah likes to call “Brady Bunch Mode” where you can see everyone’s face in a big grid instead of just the presenter’s face.

Zoom also has webinar and cloud recording features as paid subscription services.


Posted

in

by

Tags: