This Week in the LEC...

This Week in the LEC: Introducing the New BlendFlex Training Self-Paced Course, August BlendFlex Training Schedule, and Zoom Updates

Issue Date: 07-31-2020

Introducing the New BlendFlex Training Self-Paced Course

Self Paced BlendFlex Banner

The Learning and Educational Center (LEC) is pleased to announce the release of the new Self-Paced “Teaching in the BlendFlex Model” online training.  The asynchronous course consists of four modules and should take approximately 90 minutes to complete.  

Each module includes previously recorded sections of the live trainings as well as interactives.  Of particular note is the Module 2 simulation. The interactive representation of the Zoom dashboard includes a hands-on walkthrough of how to use the cameras as well as 4 suggested tools that can be used for student engagement.  

 After successfully completing all four modules and a final quiz, the instructor will be awarded a certificate of completion.  

The course is now available and directions on how to self-register can be found here. Below is a link to a video walkthrough to help guide you register for the new Self-Paced BlendFlex Training.

We are continuing our Zoom based live trainings of Teaching in the BlendFlex Model and there are 5 more opportunities to join our sessions. Either the Zoom based live training, or the Self-Paced course meets the requirements. The links for the live Zoom based trainings are listed below.

Instructor-Led BlendFlex Training Opportunities

BlendFlex Training

BlendFlex training opportunities available for the month of August!

Register for a BlendFlex interactive training session and learn how to deliver face-to-face and online learning experiences simultaneously. After this online training, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the BlendFlex Model for teaching and learning at NSU.
Identify technology and software components of BlendFlex classrooms.
Implement the BlendFlex Model to deliver content, engage, and assess students.
Identify best practices of teaching in the BlendFlex Model.

We look forward to seeing you online!

Dates & Times:

August Training Sessions

August 4th, 2020 - 9:30am - 11:00am

To Register for this course visit- https://nova.traincaster.com/app/Login.pm?course_code=BlendFlexAug04, select TrainCaster, log in, and then click on Classroom Schedule

August 6th, 2020 - 2:00pm - 3:30pm

To Register for this course visit- https://nova.traincaster.com/app/Login.pm?course_code=BlendFlexAug06, select TrainCaster, log in, and then click on Classroom Schedule

August 10th, 2020 - 2:00pm - 3:30pm

To Register for this course visit- https://nova.traincaster.com/app/Login.pm?course_code=BlendFlexAug10, select TrainCaster, log in, and then click on Classroom Schedule

August 12th, 2020 - 9:30am - 11:00am

To Register for this course visit- https://nova.traincaster.com/app/Login.pm?course_code=BlendFlexAug12, select TrainCaster, log in, and then click on Classroom Schedule

August 14th, 2020 - 9:30am - 11:00am

To Register for this course visit- https://nova.traincaster.com/app/Login.pm?course_code=BlendFlexAug14, select TrainCaster, log in, and then click on Classroom Schedule

Additional dates will be shared as they become available.

For instructions about registration through TrainCaster check out this document or the video linked below.

https://sharkmedia.nova.edu/media/1_zhc6ne70

BlendFlex Model

The BlendFlex model is an innovative course delivery method that offers Face-to-Face, Online, and Hybrid student experiences running simultaneously. NSU BlendFlex attendance options include attending: on campus in a traditional classroom setting, from a remote location (regional center, home, work) using videoconferencing type technologies including Zoom as well as the LMS Canvas.

For a list of courses, resources, and technical support, visit https://www.nova.edu/lec/blendflex.html.

To get answers to your most frequently asked questions, visit https://www.nova.edu/lec/blendflexfaq.html.

Keeping Your Students Engaged While Teaching in the BlendFlex Model

Students Engaging in Online Learning

Student engagement is critical to the academic success of students in all modalities of teaching. The BlendFlex Model combines Face-to-Face classroom with Online Synchronous and Asynchronous environments all at the same time. After you have conquered the technology involved with this model, how do you create engagement with all your students? This article will discuss three different activities that are easy to setup and use that foster student engagement in the BlendFlex Model.

Assessing Students Experience on a Topic

Each student has a treasure trove of experiences that they can bring to the discussion. However, you may find that sometimes your students are reluctant to initially express their experiences to the whole class.

When introducing topics, you can activate this prior knowledge to begin to stimulate a discussion. Zoom has the perfect tool to get this conversation started; it is called polls. In advance of the session starting you can setup your poll questions. This will allow you to then select the right time in your class to deploy the poll to both online and face-to-face students. To effectively engage your face-to-face students, you can ask them to use a device like a phone, tablet or laptop to login to Zoom and participate along with your online synchronous students.

You can share the results of the poll as a stimulus for discussion. Polls can also be very helpful to understand how familiar the topic is to students and can be used to gauge student understanding of a topic throughout a lesson.

Live polling helps to activate students’ prior knowledge and can provide critical insight on any given discussion topic.

For a brief introductory tutorial and step by step instructions, review this Zoom article on setting up polls.

Small Group Discussions

Small group discussions often allow students more comfort when sharing their opinions. Have your students do an online asynchronous activity before the class starts such as read an article related to the topic. When they return to class, you can group students to discuss their findings and then share their groups thoughts with the rest of the class. This is easy to accomplish using breakout rooms in Zoom.

For students that are in the physical classroom, you can group them together. Give students clear directions about what they should discuss and what they will need to present upon returning back to the full class session. Zoom’s Breakout rooms allow you to set a specified time limit on the discussion which can be helpful for students to stay focused on the topic at hand. Once the time for group discussion is up, you can ask for the representative to share. Classroom based participants can come towards the front of the room to be visible on camera to their remote colleagues. Students that are remote on Zoom can be given the ability to share their screen, or can be spotlighted to allow in class participants to see their presentations.

Large Group Chats

Traditional discussions happen via a Canvas based Discussion Board. But chat during a synchronous session can be an inviting space for students to participate and in Zoom, the chat feature can be a productive space for discussion and idea sharing. You can use the chat space to solicit student opinions and feedback. Chat can be used to spark new ideas and is very easy for students to participate.

You can ask students to document their ideas about a presentation and then visit the chat periodically to check-in as a class to examine the comments and ideas being shared there. You may also want to use this a way to gauge student involvement in the class session. You can ask for simple feedback and acknowledgment from students as the lesson progresses. Chat logs are available for instructors to download should the need arise to review them. Also, we recommend that you caution your students to be mindful about what they put in the chat.

It also is important to note and to let students know that when using the chat feature in the BlendFlex model, the private chat is not actually private. If you have Zoom open and displayed on screen in class, all Zoom chat messages both private and public are visible to students in the classroom.

For more information on managing the in-meeting chat, please see this Zoom article.

These are just a few of the many ways to engage your students as you teach within the BlendFlex model. Using multiple modalities and finding the best tools that match your curriculum will allow you to foster a strong connection with your students.

Teleconference

Zoom News

In Zoom News, this coming week on August 3rd there will be a host of new features added to follow for you to adjust different aspects of your video, such as brightness and fine tuning of the Touch Up My Appearance feature.

The most eye-catching feature of the coming update is one that allows the use of PowerPoint or Keynote presentation as a background. You could then use the arrows of your keyboard to navigate from the presentation. In addition to those features, they are expanding notifications to hosts when attendees enter a waiting room. Also, there are additional emoji reactions that will be available during a meeting. The full details of this and previous updates are available on the Zoom Website. As always, be sure to keep your Zoom software up to date.

To update your Zoom Application, check out these directions- https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362233-Where-Do-I-Download-The-Latest-Version

Register for a Zoom Meeting for Education Webinar

These webinars are provided by Zoom.

Duration: 45 minutes

Prerequisites: An understanding of e-mail and video conferencing principles is helpful.

In this session you will learn:

1) How to download the Zoom applications and join a Zoom meeting;

2) How to schedule a meeting and send out invitations;

3) In-meeting controls and differentiation tools (including the waiting room, share screen, breakout rooms).

Time will be allocated at the end of the session for live Q&A.

Note: We will be delivering training using Zoom's Webinar platform. This will ensure your privacy during this webinar.

To Register for a webinar, click here.

Additional Temporary Online Research Resources

In response to the transition to online learning, many publishers and other content providers are making additional resources freely available online for a limited time for students, teachers, and librarians. You may take advantage of these resources while they are temporarily available at no cost to you.

Faculty Development Channel

Faculty Development Channel on Sharkmedia

Through our partnerships with various colleges and departments, there have been several valuable workshops that were held which you may not have been able to attend. Check out our SharkMedia Channel to see recordings of past workshops such as: