What online teaching tools do you use?
Online instruction. Much of the debate has simply centered around pitfalls versus advantages of this delivery method. For many years, I simply focused on the upside. I love the fact that a single mom of five who is sleeping in her car can access my university classes at the public library or on her phone. A vet with PTSD does not have to deal with certain physical circumstances to learn and acquire credits. The list goes on, in terms of access and opening the doors of education to a wide variety of people and circumstances.
Recently, colleagues showed me that there are even learning management systems such as tovutilms.com that mix robust and holistic learner experiences with social responsibility.
Tyson Chaplin, Chief Learning Officer of Tovuti says that course flexibility and enhanced learning modalities that include interactive courses, gamification and branching scenarios have certainly raised the overall learning experience for all online learners. Tovuti also enhanced its interactive tools with virtual classroom settings and permission-based training tracks designed to unlock as you progress. We can do all of this without meeting face to face.
While both the strengths and weaknesses of online instruction are well documented, my approach has mainly been to simply seek to learn as much about it as I can, offer effective instruction, and hope to improve the method. The fact that such instruction is here to stay, was always in the back of my mind. But recent circumstances have moved that idea to the forefront.
At my job, we received an email from university officials today that said, among other things:
First, let me emphasize: for most people, this is not a time to panic. It is, however, wise for us to use the time we have available to us to plan for potential and perhaps likely impacts.
Second, two aspects of the email are especially important to highlight as they are directly relevant to classroom instruction.
A) "Because this is potentially a global-scale pandemic scenario, faculty must implement appropriately adjusted attendance protocols, in order to minimize the risk of infection of others. We simply cannot create any disincentive for potentially infected individuals to isolate themselves. Adherence to standard course-specific attendance requirements can create such a disincentive. Therefore, course-specific attendance requirements must be adjusted to remove the disincentive, while also providing support for an absent student's progress in the course:"
B) "However, in order to support any students who are self-isolating due to possible exposure, and to prepare for the possibility of a full-scale campus closure where employees must work from home, all instructors must be prepared to move course content and assignments online. To facilitate this readiness state, OIT is creating a Blackboard "shell" for every course section that is currently running, as well as for future courses. Faculty who are unfamiliar with the platform's functionality are strongly encouraged to explore the supporting resources for Blackboard as we make preparations now for various possible scenarios. In addition to Blackboard, there are a number of other web-based platforms available to assist in such a scenario: Zoom, Panopto, and G Suite (Google Apps). For assistance, contact the Office of Information Technology.
Online instruction is not only “here to stay,” it is inextricably tied to psychological, social, and economic issues including public health. At this profound new level, my thoughts race to the somewhat dizzying array of available platforms. Here is the text of a letter from one friend of mine, to another friend who is law professor. The latter is just beginning to jump into the online teaching word:
Hello,
As I mentioned, at our college we utilize both Canvas and BlueJeans for conducting classes. The MBA program is described as low residency. Classes are held once or twice a week online. Once per month there are in-person intensive weekend classes from Friday evenings - Sunday, with most classes occurring Saturdays and Sundays.
BlueJeans is the tool for conducting the online classes. The college also has IT staff trained to assist with any technical difficulties that may occur. Students usually join via their laptops, although I've had occasions where they've joined on their phones.
We use Canvas mostly to post assignments, readings, notes, syllabi, etc. I've used it for in class quizzes as well. Canvas does have a feature called FishBowl that permits students to break into small groups during an online class. I've used it since my class has some team assignments. during the class, the various teams can "meet" virtually during the class. I am able to check in on an individual team, and participate in their discussion, without disturbing other teams.
I've also used Zoom on my job for videoconferencing. I'm not sure how many academic institutions use it. I haven't participated in a Skype meeting in a few years. Doesn't seem to be popular anymore for corporate or academic use.
Effectively, all instruction is now hybrid instruction. If not, it should be. I’ve been using Blackboard for years, in all courses I teach, including my face-to-face classes, for the exact reasons detailed above.
What online teaching tools do you use? What are your experiences with some of the platforms mentioned here? I look forward to your thoughts.