Online aids for technophobic teachers.
August 3, 2020
As anyone who has spoken to me over the last few weeks knows, I have been wrapping my doctoral studies at Columbia University Teachers College with the most glorious seminar, taught by the formidable Dr. Donna Murdoch. Dr. Murdoch’s course asked us to try our hands at various whizzbangs throughout the semester, which I have concluded is the only way to truly become fluent, allowing these free, user-friendly tools to support the creation of innovative, authentic learning tasks.
I will use the following space to post links to some samples, as well as brief explanations to how I am employing each within the Blackboard Learning Management System.
Of course, I am always happy to collect more, so please be in touch on social media if you have any other tools to share or suggestions on how to augment the following:
Video Introductions. I recall a colleague from a former institution expressing concerns about posting pictures or video of themselves online, worried that they might undermine their professional personae with such methods. I could not disagree more—I firmly believe from my own experience that presenting a considered portrait of yourself at the very onset of the course is the only way to replicate your unique presence in the classroom. You don’t need to be an editing whiz, either (although I’m astonished at how quickly I’ve learned to rip of quick publicity reels on iMovie). For example, free apps like Animoto allow you to create short-but-sweet introductions, infused with your unique touches. It is amazing how your choice of greeting, photos, prose, etc. tells your students a lot about you (in my case, a certain eclectic breed of organized whimsy). Here is an example that took me about fifteen minutes to compile from logon to publish:
Creating your own tutorials. As will surprise no one, I am unable to fit the mold in my teaching, even on Blackboard. Therefore, in addition to the video training offered by my campus, I recorded a short, narrated, screen-captured video with Screencast-O-Matic, which has quickly become my favorite way to record presentations. Downloading the app gives you the option to either include your image as a thumbnail, or, if you are in your pajamas, has a surprisingly sensitive voice capture that you can use to narrate what the student is seeing on your screen. Again, about fifteen minutes or so to produce (mostly due to my own self-conscious re-starts).
Google Forms. Perfect for pre-course questionnaires (and, unlike a regular semester, I might actually be able to read the students’ home email addresses): Sample Questionnaire. Note, the “copy” function allows you to develop just one questionnaire, and simply transfer all of the new information onto a new document for the next class.
Google Docs. (Yes, I am a Goo-GAL!) I would remiss if I did not share with you the wonder that is the Google Doc. Earlier this summer, I had a professor who exclusively used live links to share important documents with a class… talk about a tree/time/confusion saver. This way, your students always have the updated version of your syllabi, including any minor adjustments to dates, etc. Not to mention you can embed within the document a host of other valuable resources! Sample Gerbi Syllabus In-Development for Fall 2020. Just make sure to adjust the settings so anyone with the link can view!
A Professorial F.A.Q. Doc. Unapologetically stolen from my colleague Dr. Thomas B. Costello, I have finally decided to compile the incoming questions received during the semester into one document; similar to the online syllabi, these will be updated in real-time, meaning that both you and your students will be able to access the most updated version from anywhere. I took the extra step of placing all of my Fall courses on one document, meaning less links to keep track of! Sample Gerbi F.A.Q.
Of course, these are only the tip of the iceberg! I will similarly update this post as I develop more examples to share. Until then, best wishes to all who are climbing back in the trenches!
Cheers,
Liz
