Engaging Learners Through Zoom - Strategies for Virtual Teaching Across Disciplines

Keep your virtual students focused and meaningfully engaged with this invaluable teaching resource
 
Engaging Learners through Zoom delivers numerous practical strategies and helpful advice on how to engage students virtually. Many of the tools are also applicable in face-to-face and hybrid environments. Backed by cognitive neuroscience research, this book is a collection of dozens of active, synchronous online learning structures that can be used in any discipline, perfect for middle and high school through higher education.
 
This book provides teachers, college educators, administrators, and trainers the antidote to Zoom fatigue! Transform Zoom (or any video-conferencing platform) into an ideal environment for students to focus more fully, learn more effectively and have more fun!
 
Dr. Brennan, accomplished author, professor and distance education expert, improves learner performance and addresses equity in education with:
* Over 150 active learning strategy examples with step-by-step directions
* Ideas for including diverse content across 83 different disciplines
* Multiple examples for 26 of the most commonly taught courses
 
Engaging Learners through Zoom belongs in the collection of every educator who wants to motivate and inspire their students to excel in a virtual learning environment.

List of contents

Acknowledgments xiii
 
About the Author xv
 
Introduction: Zoom and Active Learning Structures xvii
 
Chapter 1 Polls 1
 
Polls 1
 
Account Settings 1
 
Meeting Controls 2
 
1. Icebreaker Polls 2
 
2. Starter Polls 3
 
3. Prediction Polls 3
 
4. Reflection Polls 4
 
5. Engagement Polls 5
 
6. Survey Polls 6
 
7. Gallery Polls 6
 
8. Comprehension (Testing) Polls 7
 
9. Practice Polls 9
 
10. Closing Polls 9
 
Preventing Issues and Troubleshooting 10
 
Edit Polls 10
 
Stop Sharing 10
 
Polls Not Working 10
 
Gallery Polls and Using Padlet 10
 
Chapter 2 Chat 11
 
Chat 11
 
Account Settings 12
 
Meeting Controls 13
 
Tech and Meeting Support 13
 
1. Networking Chats 14
 
Topic-Based Focus Questions 14
 
Social Networking Starter Questions 14
 
2. Instructor Question Chats 15
 
3. Instructor Read-Aloud Chats 15
 
4. Assigned Paired Chats 16
 
5. Reporting Chats 16
 
6. Feedback Chats 17
 
7. Practice Chats 18
 
8. Quiz Chats 18
 
9. Debate Chats 20
 
10. Whole Group Chats 21
 
11. Forwarding Chats 21
 
Preventing Issues and Troubleshooting 22
 
Chapter 3 Breakout Rooms 23
 
Breakout Rooms 23
 
Account Settings 25
 
Meeting Controls 26
 
1. Icebreakers 26
 
2. Collaborative Quizzes 28
 
3. Learning Partner Activities 30
 
4. Observer Trios 32
 
5. Read-Arounds 33
 
6. Talk-Arounds 35
 
7. Jigsaw Teams 37
 
8. Fishbowl Conversations 40
 
9. Topic Rooms 45
 
Troubleshooting and Problem Prevention 48
 
Chapter 4 Main Session Room 51
 
Main Session Room 51
 
Account Settings 51
 
Meeting Controls 52
 
1. Strategic Storytelling 53
 
2. Video Guest 54
 
3. One-Minute Paper 55
 
4. Learning Stations 57
 
5. Scoring Clusters 60
 
6. Detective 63
 
7. Why, How, What If? 65
 
8. Paradigm Shift 66
 
9. Column A, Column B 68
 
10. Obstacle Race (Hope Theory) 69
 
Chapter 5 Minimizing Zoom Fatigue 73
 
Minimizing Zoom Fatigue 73
 
Introduction to Zoom Fatigue 73
 
Student and Educator Fatigue 74
 
1. Video Fatigue 76
 
2. Audio Fatigue 79
 
3. Physical Fatigue 82
 
4. Cognitive Fatigue 85
 
5. Social-Emotional Fatigue 87
 
6. All Zoom Fatigue 89
 
A Word from the Wise 91
 
Chapter 6 Whiteboards for Sharing 93
 
Whiteboards for Sharing 93
 
Account Settings 93
 
Meeting Controls 93
 
Annotation Tools 94
 
1. Volunteer Scribes (Main and Breakout Sessions) 94
 
2. Solo Problem-Solving with Instructor Feedback 95
 
3. Drawing Activities 97
 
4. Feedback Questions Using Stamp 97
 
5. Breakout Room Whiteboard Use 99
 
Preventing Issues and Troubleshooting 101
 
Chapter 7 Virtual Backgrounds and Profile Photos 103
 
Virtual Backgrounds and Profile Photos 103
 
Account Settings 104
 
Meeting Controls 105
 
Profile Photos 105
 
1. Learning Structure 105
 
2. What's Up Next? 106
 
3. Topic Related 106
 
4. Break Reminders 107
 
5. Reflections 107
 
6. Field Trip 107
 
7. Energizer or Relaxer 108
 
8. Background as Poll 108
 
9. Eve

About the author

DR. JONATHAN BRENNAN is an English faculty member at Mission College (CA). Researching best practices in student engagement, he has authored five books, including On Course: Strategies for Success in College, Career, and Life. He received the Hayward Education Excellence and Stanback-Stroud Diversity awards and has trained over 6,000 educators in active learning.

Summary

Keep your virtual students focused and meaningfully engaged with this invaluable teaching resource

Engaging Learners through Zoom delivers numerous practical strategies and helpful advice on how to engage students virtually. Many of the tools are also applicable in face-to-face and hybrid environments. Backed by cognitive neuroscience research, this book is a collection of dozens of active, synchronous online learning structures that can be used in any discipline, perfect for middle and high school through higher education.

This book provides teachers, college educators, administrators, and trainers the antidote to Zoom fatigue! Transform Zoom (or any video-conferencing platform) into an ideal environment for students to focus more fully, learn more effectively and have more fun!

Dr. Brennan, accomplished author, professor and distance education expert, improves learner performance and addresses equity in education with:
* Over 150 active learning strategy examples with step-by-step directions
* Ideas for including diverse content across 83 different disciplines
* Multiple examples for 26 of the most commonly taught courses

Engaging Learners through Zoom belongs in the collection of every educator who wants to motivate and inspire their students to excel in a virtual learning environment.

Report

"Engaging Learners through Zoom is like a banquet of ideas for polls, chats, breakout rooms, using the main session as a central hub, and far more. What's terrific about this book is that it gives concrete, innovative examples for practically every discipline--any instructor can benefit! I never knew I needed this book, but now, I couldn't do without it!"
--Dr. Barbara Oakley, Coursera "Innovation Instructor" of the world's most popular MOOC; Ramón y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning, McMaster University; Engineering Professor, Oakland University; and author of A Mind For Numbers, Learning How to Learn, and Mindshift.
 
"In this amazing resource, Dr. Brennan examines all the Zoom course delivery tools--polls, chats, breakout rooms, whiteboards, integrated apps, and so on. For each tool, he outlines a broad variety of learning structures (10 for polls alone), with numerous examples in different disciplines. His engaging writing style gives you the impression that you're sitting with a knowledgeable and friendly colleague who can help you do anything with Zoom you want to do, and deal with any problem that may arise. An indispensable "how-to" book in a field is often dubbed the bible of that field. I am certain that this book will quickly become the bible for Zoom users, and possibly for all online instructors."
--Dr. Richard Felder, Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University; coauthor of Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide and Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes
 
"Dr. Brennan has insightfully applied principles from the learning sciences, motivation research, On Course and emotional intelligence to demonstrate how Zoom sessions can be fun and exciting for instructors as well as students. While this book is invaluable for instructors teaching remotely, it is also vital for face-to-face teaching because of the treasure trove of examples, from a multitude of disciplines, that are applicable to both environments."
--Dr. Saundra Yancy McGuire, Author of Teach Students How to Learn; Director Emerita, Center for Academic Success; (Ret) Assistant Vice Chancellor & Professor of Chemistry, Louisiana State University
 
"Faculty have been waiting for this book! Engaging Learners through Zoom is filled with practical strategies (and clear, detailed directions) that educators at any level can use to engage students in online classes. The book also offers multiple research-based strategies to address physical, cognitive, and emotional Zoom fatigue."
--Dr. Teresa Ward, Professional Development Faculty Coordinator, Butte College
 
"As a someone who has had to quickly master a variety of new, online tools, reading this book felt like having an experienced, supportive mentor at my fingertips. Engaging Learners Through Zoom offers a wealth of innovative solutions for many of the challenges confronting student-centered educators who now find themselves in online classrooms. Grounded in research on learning, this practical guide translates best practices in student engagement into strategies that can be implemented in my teaching right away. It provides concise, well-designed activities in a variety of disciplines and step-by-step guidance for implementing them with online tools."
--Dr. Kristie Daniel-DiGregorio, Professor, Human Development, El Camino College
 
"This book is a must-have and will change how you view and teach online with Zoom. The level of detail is thoughtful, providing examples for various subjects with attention paid to diversity and inclusion, and it has a "preventing issues and troubleshooting" section in each chapter. There are so many ideas-my favorites are the "Obstacle Race" and "Dance Party."
--Dr. Lea Beth Lewis, Assistant Director (Emeriti), The University Learning Center, California State University, Fullerton
 
"As students transition to the virtual world, faculty are finding Zoom an exhausting and unfulfilling prospect. Lacking the tools to engage students in the synchronous environment, they are getting tired of searching for instructional suggestions on the Web. Dr. Brennan's book to the rescue. It's easy to use this book as an essential guide that will ensure greater learning for students and less fatigue for instructors."
--Michelle Francis, Professional Development Coordinator, West Valley College
 
"There is no better educator, researcher and overall student success champion than Dr. Jonathan Brennan to share his years of wisdom in the classroom (and now on ZOOM). Dr. Brennan weaves his mastery and passion for engaging college students into the virtual world with this outstanding book, that could not be more timely."
--Andrea Shaw, Assistant Dean, Marketing and Communication, Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business
 
"Professor Brennan's strategies are immediately attractive to anyone striving to engage students. The book's explanations and directions are simple and practical, and easy to imagine and implement. This collection is a very welcome resource in this challenging time. Within ten minutes of starting through the book, I had several apps open and was upping my game for classes and meetings alike!"
--Chris Weidenbach, English Department Chair, Professional Development Committee, Laney College
 
"The world has turned upside down, and ready or not, we're all online. Now what? Dr. Brennan's oh-so-timely offering provides the step-by-step answer to that question. It's a gift to faculty longing to keep students and active learning at the heart of instruction, even in a Zoom-centric world."
--Katie O'Brien, EOPS Counselor/Professor, Staff Development Coordinator, Rio Hondo College
 
"Brennan's guide to active learning on Zoom will be useful as our colleagues around the nation (and the world) seek to better leverage tech tools to make the online environment active, and virtual interactions more genuine. He is dedicated to student success and is extraordinarily skilled as a facilitator."
--William Patrick Barlow, Emeritus Faculty/Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Madison College
 
"If you are an online educator in any discipline, you absolutely NEED this book; it's phenomenal! Keeping our students engaged is now more critical than ever, and this book delivers. It provides educators with step-by-step instructions to effectively utilize Zoom to promote learning and minimize Zoom fatigue. Using this book, I have seen a significant increase in student participation and engagement, which gives me hope."
--Ann Brandon, English/Reading Instructor and Professional Development Coordinator, Clovis Community College

Product details

• Authors: Jonathan Brennan, Brennan Jonathan
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.10.2020
• EAN: 9781119783145
• ISBN: 978-1-119-78314-5
• No. of pages: 144
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Education > School education, didactics, methodology; virtuelles Lernen, Education, Bildungswesen, Zoom, Hochschulen / Lehren u. Lernen, Teaching & Learning (Higher Education), Technology & Education (K-12), K-12 / Technologien im Bildungswesen