Teaching online: Do's and Don'ts

Synchronous facilitation techniques

• A Learning Management System (LMS), such as Moodle, is an asynchronous platform, but it is possible to embed well known synchronous platforms such as Zoom, MS Teams and Big Blue Button into your LMS. 

  
  

  However, facilitating synchronous sessions has its own challenges. We will consider the following advice:

  • Use a team approach to running meetings
  • Ensure clear and well communicated scheduling
  • Carefully structured but not over designed with space for discussions to 'evolve'
  • Provide participants with something to do above 'listen'.

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  Quick tips

• Since COVID-19 pandemic the popularity of using synchronous meeting platforms has sky rocketed. Platforms like Zoom, Big Blue Button, MS Teams and GoTo Meeting have become a prerequisite for remote study. Yet most online educators use these environments poorly. 

• Fogelberg, F & Tavanyar, J (2015). Live Connections Page

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• As a group share your favourite synchronous meeting 'horror story'. Describe a meeting from hell. Think of the advice offered by Fogelberg and Tavanyar. What was wrong with the meeting and how might it have been improved? Make sure you post and then reply to at least two of your peers' contributions.

• Synchronous meeting horror stories Forum

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  The ten commandments

• Consider the ten commandments of synchronous meeting facilitation according to Fogelberg and Tavanyar:

• Fogelberg, F & Tavanyar, J (2015). 10 Commandments Page

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