The Zoom life

After four months of Distance Education and "Zooming" (my classes are synchronous, I am not doing online classes), a lot of anxiety and stress, I now feel more comfortable, and pretty good about the quality of my classes and how I am helping my students.

In the Spring, I attended a couple of workshops for Zoom -they were long, boring, and I didn't find the information helpful.  I learned what not to do in my own classes.  The most important thing I learned from 2 hour long workshops on Zoom, is that they should be short for the sake of the physical and mental health of the attendees. I hear the horror stories from my students who have to endure 3 hour long classes with lecture and Powerpoint. I don't want my classes to be longer than an hour and fifteen minutes, an hour and a half max. The rest of the time are office hours/consultations. 

I  started using Zoom in March,  it was an intensive crash course! I had little training, I learned as I went along, and by researching online. For me, the best way to learn Zoom is hands on, I am getting a lot of practice with my summer classes. It gives me peace of mind that I am familiar with it; do not wait until the last minute. Zoom has its quirks, some days I encounter new things in the middle of class, but I can figure it out, or fix it without having a melt down.  I have learned to embrace Zoom, and I don't hate it anymore! 

Little things that make my Zoom life easier:

Comfort. 

Make sure your chair is comfortable!!! I started to feel a lot of back and neck pain. When I sit, good posture is important, slouching leads to back pain. I prefer to stand while I am in class, so most of the time I Zoom from my kitchen, I prop up my computers with books and I have counter space for my materials -I like them within my hand's reach. 

Although my apartment is small, there are places where I don't have a strong wifi connection. Know where those places are if you are going to Zoom from different locations, and always have your charger handy, por si las moscas. 

I like bright, natural light, I want my students to see me clearly, so I know where I have good lighting. Remember that your students can see your house, I make sure that my background is not distracting or messy.  

Organization. 

I make sure to have everything I need near so I don't have to walk away (sometimes I have to). Occasionally I have to move during class because of noise: landscapers, car alarms, etc. It helps to have my material organized and ready for easy transport. 

After class I put my stuff  in a box that I can easily move to wherever I am zooming. 

With Zoom you need to have your documents opened before you share your screen. I like to do this before class to save time (you can do it during class too).  

 

Technology.

I use two laptops during class (although some keys don't work in my  old laptop, it does the job!). I like using the second computer to look up materials and activities (I don't have a printer... that connects to my computers. At a lunch at my house, I had the privilege of having three engineers (Juan Carlos, David Hooper and my brother in law Kevin look at it,  they couldn't figure it out either), and I use the other computer to Zoom. 

Yesterday I lost the connection during class, no worries: I joined the meeting with the other laptop. I was gone for less than two minutes and my students helped me resolve the issue. Stuff will happen, it's important to stay calm, don't panic, and learn from the glitches. Having the daily experience of Zoom, makes acting during a "crisis" easier. 

Make sure to mute your devices and notifications so the noises don't disrupt class. While zooming, I don't have personal windows opened, when you share screen, your students can see everything. The same with my desktop, it's organized so that I can access folders efficiently, and I don't have anything personal opened. 

I upgraded my iPhone, and I use Word, PDF and PowerPoint to send materials to my students. 

I created a private  Facebook group for each section -I post reviews, videos, activities, and students can interact and help each other. If you are interested in checking it out, let me know: you need an invitation because it's a private group. 

I do not use Canvas: more on that later.

I created a Gmail account for each section, that's where students submit homework.

I email my students their homework and all materials they need for studying, I do not send them a list with all assignments at once, my tareas and exam dates depend on how class is going and what their needs are. Currently I am teaching summer school (Monday-Thurs), they receive an email for each day that homework is due along with the link for Zoom. 

For me, it is important to have a good attitude, to keep things simple, and make the best of the situation. After 26 years of teaching in colleges, this experience has taught me that we need to be open minded and be willing to learn new things -just like we tell our students. I am a better teacher now, because of this experience.

I know that there a million ways to do things that are better and more efficient. I feel energized and creative, and I love the challenge of doing something new. My intention is to share what I am doing in this interesting journey, my experiences, what I have learned, and what works for me and my classes.

#ReadTheSyllabus

#OneTeamOneDream