Ed Tech Q & A

[spork]

I would like to try to consolidate relatively-specific questions about educational/instructional technologies into one thread.

We have one question about Flipgrid already:

Does anybody incorporate Flipgrid into their course? If so, what are the specifics of how you use it and how you assess it, how much of the course grade is it worth, etc? I've recently learned of it but am still trying to wrap my head around how to possibly use it in my own classes and seeing specific details on how others use it would be helpful to me. Thanks for any additional information and bonus if you'd be willing to share the text of what you say about it on your syllabus.

Thank you!

I also have a question for users of Zoom (the free version, in the U.S.): if students are put into breakout rooms, can they share screens among each other? I would like to have one student in each breakout room show text to other students in the same breakout room. Each group will be working on something different during breakout discussions, which is why I can't just share my screen as the host of the meeting.

[Golazo]

With Zoom, your students should be able to share screens in breakouts if you enable this setting, though admittedly I haven't tried it

[spork]

With Zoom, your students should be able to share screens in breakouts if you enable this setting, though admittedly I haven't tried it

Did a test of this with me as host and one other person in a Zoom breakout room -- each of us were able to share screens no problem. Going to test this with some larger groups this week.

In the meantime, does anyone know the difference between Webex Teams, Webex Meetings, and Webex Educonnector. The last is, I think, one of the names for Webex's LMS LTI; at my university trying to use Webex from within Canvas is a miserable failure.

[doc700]

I would like to try to consolidate relatively-specific questions about educational/instructional technologies into one thread.

I also have a question for users of Zoom (the free version, in the U.S.): if students are put into breakout rooms, can they share screens among each other? I would like to have one student in each breakout room show text to other students in the same breakout room. Each group will be working on something different during breakout discussions, which is why I can't just share my screen as the host of the meeting.

Yes, I've done this in large classes.  In the breakout room the students can share their screens (or a whiteboard). I think it actually doesn't matter what permission settings are in the main room; anyone can share in the breakout.

One tricky thing is that the documents you share in the main room or in the main room chat evaporate when they get into the breakout rooms.  So be sure the students have the text on their computer or have clicked the link to get the document etc before they get into the room.  If you give them instructions on where to get the text in the main room then send them into rooms, they will lose the instructions.

Also when they leave the room the whiteboard evaporates and they don't have it when they return to the room.  So if you are going to have students go back and forth make sure the information is stored on a local computer (or the whiteboard saved).

I've heard a better way to do this is for you to set up a series of google docs, one for each group.  The links are on the LMS site and each group knows which link to click on (say label them with numbers like breakout groups).  Then you have have all the google docs open on your computer and flip through them to see how each group is doing.  This is faster for you to check in -- you going into and out of breakout rooms has at least a several section lag.

[kaysixteen]

I have been asked to do  some Zoom courses this fall.  The school involved is offering training and specific Zoom instructions, which I will gladly accept, but what I also need to know is exactly what hardware I need to own in order to be able to do this.  Any thoughts would be most appreciated....thanks.

[namazu]

I have been asked to do  some Zoom courses this fall.  The school involved is offering training and specific Zoom instructions, which I will gladly accept, but what I also need to know is exactly what hardware I need to own in order to be able to do this.  Any thoughts would be most appreciated....thanks.

Most* modern personal computers (including laptops and tablets) with a camera and a microphone (either built-in, or as separate plug-in attachments) and a halfway-decent processor should be able to handle Zoom.  It is also important to have a fast-enough internet connection to allow for streaming without the video or audio feed becoming garbled or cutting out. 

Once you have your computer in hand, you will need to download the Zoom software, and then hopefully the rest will be covered in the school-provided training.

*For some reason, my own (seemingly-adequately-powered) laptop seems not to play entirely nicely with Zoom, leading to a weird flickering effect on my own video (imagine a sci-fi movie where the people appear as holograms, fuzzing in and out), though other people's video shows up fine.  And I do not tend to have the same problem with WebEx, GoToMeeting, or other similar programs, so I don't think it's my graphics card, and I don't know what the issue is with Zoom.

Are you looking to buy a laptop, Kay?  I'm sure we forumites can suggest some specific models that might fit your needs on a shoestring budget.  Is there a particular screen size (measured on the diagonal) below which you are not comfortable?  And do you have more experience/comfort with Microsoft/Windows or Apple/Mac operating systems?

[kaysixteen]

Ok, I do not even know whether there is a built-in camera and mike, but can easily find that out, and buy them if need be.  Internet speed is fine.   What I got here, which was a gift about 6 months ago, is an 'intel core i5 8th gen ThinkPad'.

[namazu]

Ok, I do not even know whether there is a built-in camera and mike, but can easily find that out, and buy them if need be.  Internet speed is fine.   What I got here, which was a gift about 6 months ago, is an 'intel core i5 8th gen ThinkPad'.

Great!  What you have now will likely be able to handle Zoom without fuss. 

If you install the Zoom software (which you can download for free at https://zoom.us/support/download ), and then run it, there is often a way to test out your equipment to make sure you have your audio and video running correctly. Zoom should automatically detect your webcam and microphone, if present.  If you know how to find your computer's system settings, you may also be able to view a list of devices, which would include mics and cameras.  (And if you see a small round spot that looks like a tiny lens, likely located near the top of your open laptop, that's probably a webcam.)

[AvidReader]

If you follow namazu's suggestions and can get Zoom to work, I suggest Zooming with a friend or colleague and asking for feedback on the view/angle and also the sound quality/background noise. If you can afford a small extra piece of tech, I am a huge fan of having either a separate webcam (that you can set at face height) or a separate keyboard (so you can set your laptop up a little higher, close to face height, without having to crane your arms up awkwardly to type). If you have a lot of background noise (Zoom tries to filter it out, but I find it's hit and miss with slower connections), you'll know to listen out for it and mute yourself (when not speaking) as needed.

AR.

[pgher]

Scheduling software question. Here's my situation. The capacity of my classroom this fall is ¼ of my enrollment. My plan is to flip the classroom. During class time, students may attend in person or online (Zoom), or may watch the recording later. What I would like is a reservation system so that students can choose in-person attendance up to the room capacity. If a student attends on a particular day, they are locked out of making a reservation for the next class for some period of time. For example, if they attend on Tuesday, they won't be able to reserve a Thursday slot until Wednesday sometime. That way, if there is a lot of demand for in-person attendance, it gets rotated, but also all of the slots get filled. Any suggestions for how to accomplish this?

[spork]

From another thread:

Is anyone teaching remotely using Discord instead of Zoom? I'd love to hear experiences.

Not exactly an answer to your question, but:

https://activelearningps.com/2020/03/17/what-tools-are-we-using-and-why-discord-should-be-one-of-them/.

[spork]

I would like to try to consolidate relatively-specific questions about educational/instructional technologies into one thread.

I also have a question for users of Zoom (the free version, in the U.S.): if students are put into breakout rooms, can they share screens among each other? I would like to have one student in each breakout room show text to other students in the same breakout room. Each group will be working on something different during breakout discussions, which is why I can't just share my screen as the host of the meeting.

Yes, I've done this in large classes.  In the breakout room the students can share their screens (or a whiteboard). I think it actually doesn't matter what permission settings are in the main room; anyone can share in the breakout.

One tricky thing is that the documents you share in the main room or in the main room chat evaporate when they get into the breakout rooms.  So be sure the students have the text on their computer or have clicked the link to get the document etc before they get into the room.  If you give them instructions on where to get the text in the main room then send them into rooms, they will lose the instructions.

Also when they leave the room the whiteboard evaporates and they don't have it when they return to the room.  So if you are going to have students go back and forth make sure the information is stored on a local computer (or the whiteboard saved).

I've heard a better way to do this is for you to set up a series of google docs, one for each group.  The links are on the LMS site and each group knows which link to click on (say label them with numbers like breakout groups).  Then you have have all the google docs open on your computer and flip through them to see how each group is doing.  This is faster for you to check in -- you going into and out of breakout rooms has at least a several section lag.

First test of Zoom with faculty went well; I have another test scheduled for later today. I was in fact thinking about Google Docs already because I want to use breakout rooms in part for collaborative writing exercises -- give breakout groups ~ 15 minutes to work on a piece of writing and then each group share its result with the rest of the class after breakout rooms close.

I'm currently debating the merits of a Google Doc for the entire class (30 students) to use for shared note-taking or a separate Google Doc for note-taking among members of each group (5 students). The single Doc might be better for creating a sense of community in the course, but it could also encourage some students to free ride. Maybe there's a greater fear of not pulling one's weight in a smaller group.

[mythbuster]

pgher, I would just assign what day they have to come. It will save you many headaches.

[Biologist_]

First test of Zoom with faculty went well; I have another test scheduled for later today. I was in fact thinking about Google Docs already because I want to use breakout rooms in part for collaborative writing exercises -- give breakout groups ~ 15 minutes to work on a piece of writing and then each group share its result with the rest of the class after breakout rooms close.

I'm currently debating the merits of a Google Doc for the entire class (30 students) to use for shared note-taking or a separate Google Doc for note-taking among members of each group (5 students). The single Doc might be better for creating a sense of community in the course, but it could also encourage some students to free ride. Maybe there's a greater fear of not pulling one's weight in a smaller group.

I did some professional society webinars over Zoom recently in which we did work in breakout groups and edited Google docs together in the small groups. The implementation varied over several days.

The smoothest setup involved:
1. Link to Google drive folder shared in the main Zoom session. Link set to "anyone with the link can edit." For a class, this link could be shared through the LMS.
2. Links to individual Google docs in the folder, numbered for each breakout group. That way, the organizers could randomly sort us into breakout groups and we could just find the right Google doc link based on the breakout group number.
3. Template or prompt for topics to address pasted into each Google doc already.

Each group had access to all of the other Google docs through the main shared folder, but people generally just worked within their own group's Google docs. The organizers could easily check in on the various docs and then aggregate text from the docs later.

I have been teaching my classes in flipped mode. When I put students in breakout groups, they often use the screen share feature to look at lab data or other stuff together. In the main session, I have to adjust a setting so they can share, but I think they can just do it automatically within the breakout room.

[doc700]

Yes, I think this is what was proposed to me as well.  I haven't tried it.  The idea is that before class you open all the google docs on your computer, one in each browser tab.  Then you can flip through the browser tabs in a few seconds to "check in" on each group and see which ones are struggling.  As the host of a Zoom meeting you can go in and out of Zoom meetings but it takes a few seconds for each movement.  So if you have a 10 minute activity and 8 groups, it will not be feasible to otherwise check in and see the progress from all the teams.  Having the google docs makes it easier on your end to track progress rather than needing to enter the room to see the shared screen there.

First test of Zoom with faculty went well; I have another test scheduled for later today. I was in fact thinking about Google Docs already because I want to use breakout rooms in part for collaborative writing exercises -- give breakout groups ~ 15 minutes to work on a piece of writing and then each group share its result with the rest of the class after breakout rooms close.

I'm currently debating the merits of a Google Doc for the entire class (30 students) to use for shared note-taking or a separate Google Doc for note-taking among members of each group (5 students). The single Doc might be better for creating a sense of community in the course, but it could also encourage some students to free ride. Maybe there's a greater fear of not pulling one's weight in a smaller group.

I did some professional society webinars over Zoom recently in which we did work in breakout groups and edited Google docs together in the small groups. The implementation varied over several days.

The smoothest setup involved:
1. Link to Google drive folder shared in the main Zoom session. Link set to "anyone with the link can edit." For a class, this link could be shared through the LMS.
2. Links to individual Google docs in the folder, numbered for each breakout group. That way, the organizers could randomly sort us into breakout groups and we could just find the right Google doc link based on the breakout group number.
3. Template or prompt for topics to address pasted into each Google doc already.

Each group had access to all of the other Google docs through the main shared folder, but people generally just worked within their own group's Google docs. The organizers could easily check in on the various docs and then aggregate text from the docs later.

I have been teaching my classes in flipped mode. When I put students in breakout groups, they often use the screen share feature to look at lab data or other stuff together. In the main session, I have to adjust a setting so they can share, but I think they can just do it automatically within the breakout room.