St. Joseph’s College professors are working together in a “Carry On” tech chat to make remote learning a great experience for all students during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Office of Information Technology Services is partnering with the director of online learning, the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Faculty Technology Committee to host casual and constructive conversations about the many ways “Carry On” Teaching supports the faculty. During these chats, professors break into small “tech chat” groups on Zoom to discuss ways to conduct hands-on activities in virtual classroom settings. The group discussions give professors the opportunity to have informal conversations with their colleagues and compare notes on what works and what doesn’t.
Michelle Papajohn, the College’s vice president for information technology and chief information officer, and Amy Poland, Ph.D., associate dean for online learning and associate professor of criminal justice at SJC Long Island, lead the meetings.
“We did a session or two about this over the past couple of weeks, and we have a lot of resources to help you,” Papajohn said in a tech chat session last week. There were 11 people in the session, spanning from adjunct to tenured professors.
Fostering Community in a Zoom Classroom
Joseph D. Ross, Ph.D., interim associate dean for student success and an associate communication studies professor at SJC Brooklyn, said he likes to use Zoom’s breakout-rooms function to let students discuss topics in small groups during class. He encourages students to use these rooms to practice their presentations before presenting to the whole class.
“It actually works out quite well,” Dr. Ross said. “I can lecture and talk to them, then they go into those break rooms and have discussions and conversations. When they’re in their break rooms, you can actually drop in on them. I tell them to just continue, or I might ask them a question.”
Professors must set up break rooms before the class starts. Dr. Ross said he sets the break rooms to last for a certain amount of time. When time is up, students are automatically sent back to the full class.
Some professors in the session — including Shawn Robertson, Ed.D., an associate professor of child study, literacy cognition, and childhood or adolescent special education at SJC Long Island — have used this function in their own remote classrooms, while others were happy to learn of the new tip.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
Besides using breakout rooms, there are many other Zoom features that St. Joseph’s College professors are using to foster a collaborative classroom.
Below are a few other suggestions professors shared during the tech chat:
- Use online resources. Lorraine Lubicich, an assistant professor of recreation and leisure studies at SJC Long Island, said she uses videos to teach about human behaviors. While her students can’t observe patients in a real-world setting, she said she uses videos online to help them identify and understand patient behaviors.
- Quiz students using a poll. Esther Berkowitz, Ph.D., director of the literacy and cognition program and an associate professor of child study and literacy and cognition at SJC Brooklyn, said she plans to use the polling function in Zoom to quiz her students. Professors can set up polls prior to a class starting — similar to the breakout rooms. Dr. Berkowitz will use the polls to quiz students preparing to take the literacy and cognition certification.
- Set up computer tabs ahead of time. Many professors are in agreement that this is a fool-proof way to seamlessly share a screen for class in a Zoom classroom. When professors prepare the internet browser with the links they plan to show during class, it helps to navigate smoothly with as few hiccups as possible.
For more information about remote teaching, learning and working at St. Joseph’s College, visit the Carry On website.
