Key Features in Virtual Meeting Platforms for Effective Synchronous Class Delivery (CTE7534)

Tuesday, March 2, 2021 10:00 am - 11:00 am EST (GMT -05:00)

Location: Online (MS Teams)

Facilitator: Victoria Feth (Centre for Teaching Excellence) and Monica Vesely (Centre for Teaching Excellence)

Description

The pandemic has made virtual meeting platforms like Teams, WebEx, Bongo Virtual Classroom, and Zoom, more ubiquitous and necessary than ever. Although it has been 10 months since the great pivot to remote learning, there are still many features of these synchronous platforms that may be unknown or underutilized, which can promote engagement including when you can’t see your students’ faces or hear their voices. This workshop is all about these “platform-agnostic” features, like breakout rooms, waiting rooms, chat, polls, whiteboards and annotation, and the many affordances of screen sharing to bend other educational technologies, like Mentimeter and Padlet, to meet your synchronous needs. 

In this session, via Microsoft Teams, your facilitators will showcase these features, interspersed with examples from across disciplines of when you might use them. Then participants will be invited to ask questions and share their experiences with virtual meeting platforms.

By the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

  • Identify some strategies to engage their students in their synchronous learning time.
  • Choose from features available in most virtual meeting platforms to best execute said strategies.
  • Distinguish the purpose and merits of each platform shared for effective synchronous class delivery.

Registration

Registration required (if this is your first time using GoSignMeUp, you will need to set up your account first). If you have changed roles at the University (e.g., graduate student to faculty) please updateyour "Participant Profile" in your GoSignMeUp account.

Cancellations

Many of our workshops have waiting lists, so if you've registered but can't attend, please cancel your registration well in advance through the registration system, so that someone else can fill your spot.

Accessibility

The University of Waterloo is committed to achieving barrier-free accessibility for persons with disabilities who are visiting, studying, or working at Waterloo. CTE’s online workshops are delivered through either WebEx, Microsoft Teams, or Bongo with the audio component available either as captioning or a transcript. CTE’s face-to-face workshops typically involve a mix of presentation and discussion-based activities, and we encourage a scent-free environment. We welcome accompanying assistants, interpreters, and note-takers. If you have questions concerning access, such as parking, building layouts, or obtaining workshop content in alternative formats, or wish to request accommodations for our programming, please let us know by emailing cte@uwaterloo.ca. Please note that some accommodations may require time to arrange.