Campus Technology’s Bridget McCrea recently wrote about several things a synchronous online teacher should and shouldn’t do, but the list applies to the use of technology in any class, I think.
One thing McCrea does not mention, that I’ve always wanted to have when I teach, is some kind of tech or assistant in the class to take care of things. One example of this is in the movie The Hunt for Red October when Jack Ryan has a yeoman who organizes and displays slides as he’s presenting (at a presentation he was asked to give as he walked into a meeting). In my dream class, the tech could serve as a media organizer, Google jockey (PDF) and troubleshooter. This person would play the relevant awesome music before class, they’d make sure the lecture was captured, students given credit for their participation (or simply noted to better ascertain how and when students participate) and they’d help gather micro-assessments.
My favorite item from the article:
Do plan ahead for contingencies. Depending on the size of your group, there may be times when someone “dropping off” of the connection impacts the entire lesson. When the teacher is the one dropped, the situation can quickly spiral out of control. Tufts said she avoids this issue by informing participants ahead of time not to hang up and to give the person ample time (5-7 minutes, for example) to log back in and resume teaching or learning.
