More Weatherproofing! Recap II

We continue yesterday’s workshop recap post from the Weatherproofing Your Class event on Tuesday. This post will focus on  technological solutions for student responses, group work, and synchronous video communication.

Lecture
With very little knowledge of audio or video recording, you can record a lecture. We like recorded lectures broken up into smaller chunks so that students can easily navigate them and it makes for smaller file sizes so uploading and streaming is faster. Technology tools include:

• PowerPoint: Record audio narration on each slide of your existing PowerPoint presentation. You can save this as a video file and upload to Moodle (using the Kaltura Video Resource) or YouTube. Recommended for PC users.
• QuickTime: Did you know QuickTime also records audio, video, or screen capture? This works great for Mac users, especially if you want to narrate over a Keynote or PowerPoint presentation.
• Jing: This free download is possibly the easiest of all these options. Jing is a free download that you can use to take screencasts up to five minutes long and easily share with students via a link that is automatically generated.
• Camtasia: Camtasia is like Jing, but it is a more robust software that includes video and audio editing tools and allows you to create longer videos. It also includes a PowerPoint plugin for easy narration of PowerPoint presentations. The cost for Camstasia may by covered by your department’s software fund.
• Educations (or other similar apps): If you have an iPad or tablet and want to record a lecture or instruction by writing on a whiteboard, Educreations is a free and easy to use app. Simply record your actions on the Educreations whiteboard, save the video and share with your students through a link. The free version works well, but the pro version includes more features.

Asynchronous Discussions and Group Work

• Moodle Assignment: Cancelled class is not an excuse for not completing assignments on time. Even if assignments are written with pencil and paper, you can ask students to scan them using the printer/copier and submit them via the Moodle Assignment tool. If you need to see or want a print copy, simply ask students to bring the hard copy for the next class meeting.
• Moodle Forum: Create a Moodle Forum as an alternative to in-class discussions, as place to answer questions about a recorded video lecture, or as venue for group discussions.
• Google Drive: As we demonstrated during the workshop, you can use Google Drive to accomplish many goals. Documents, presentations, and spreadsheets can all be edited collaboratively and in real time. The chat feature allows students to discuss as they work. You can also visit documents to engage students as they work or discuss an idea. In addition, you can create separate documents for groups and ask students to work on projects which you can then also access.

Synchronous Discussions

• Google Hangouts: Google Hangouts allows up to 10 people to join in a video conference online. Because all students have Google accounts, it is an easy way to hold a discussion or lecture from different locations but at the same time.
• Zoom: Similar to Google Hangouts, Zoom allows up to 25 people to join in on a videoconference. Zoom also includes screen sharing, annotation, and even recording. After 25 people, you will need to pay for a subscription.
• Google Chat: If you wish to have a synchronous discussion with your class but don’t need or want the video, Google Chat is a great solution. All students have Google accounts, to adding them to a Chat is easy. You can also archive the discussion to maintain a record of it or share with students.