During the COVID fiasco, we've had to adapt. By far, the first break-out concerns are 1) hardware and 2) internet connection. There's a couple Zoom/Meet tips for class organizers at the bottom.
If you can organize databases and an email server, you're ahead of the program.
MySQL configuration (14:26) Engineer Man, 2019. MySQL, but can adapt to Posgres.
- connection reliable FiOs is the only way to underwrite live streaming and large webinars without problems. IME, 80% of students have connections that can manage this format since 5G. During 4G, reliable connections or data plans would average 30% participation.
- hardware a laptop from 2016 minimally: eg, Xeon E3-1200 v5/E3-1500 v5/6th Gen Core Processor with minimum 8GB RAM. Linux, Mac, Windows, makes no difference but has to be able to encode/decode in real time. Additionally, one or both of:
- a digital tablet to write equations (connect with USB, switch in Zoom).
- a document camera (connect with USB, switch in Zoom).
- paper doing Zooms (or any contact with students, admin, or parents), I have 1) a plain spiral notebook, 2) teachers planner, and 3) printed copies of my rosters on a clipboard. I can take notes and keep-up with checking off having spoken with everyone, objectives, attendance, and so on. These paper planners are old school, but it's a cheap investment in sanity, IME.
- space room for comfortable seating and cross lighting
second best
anything less than above. The main difference is how contact is made. For example, suppose there is no Zoom capability with the students? I will have to make videos, and I will have to make phone calls, both very time consuming. Of course, I have a Google Voice number available, but there is extensive logging and sometimes a tickler required -- it's casework. Tier 2 means reaching-out since Zoom rooms are unavailable for students and parents to visit themselves. The point is I can be just as successful in Tier 1 or 2, they just look slightly different in how I spend my time, and how much time.
common strategy
Eighty percent of what I do is the same whether or not I'm in Tier 1 or 2. Accordingly, most of this post is taken with what the two tiers have in common. At the bottom are notes on strategies specific to each.admin
Apart from academics, one has to provide their own admin layer.- time-keeping spreadsheet, daily entries, semester long. I have categories (columns) for each day and just put in my hours, let the spreadsheet total it. The first page has this, then I have a second page specifically tracking Zoom/webinar hours. This has served me well to provide to others. If cost were no option, I would want a complete database available with custom reports, but the risk is spending more time entering data than doing work, so a spreadsheet manages this OK.
- personal calendar I use old-fashioned paper on this. oil changes, MD appts, all of this. Time-keeping I run in a spreadsheet, hours worked with categories, all appointments are done in a separate calendar
solo
An ever lesser approach than Tier 2 is to have no support, working on one's own. At this level, a person's largest problem becomes grade, testing, and assignment turn-ins. Without any organizational support use a free Schoology account, Zoom, one's Google account (email, voice, drive), and then post occasional YouTube videos that link to one's Schoology. Since you can post grades and attendance in Schoology, you run it as the LMS. Engrade usded to be able to handle this but no longer exists.
- connection you more or less are going to need FiOs speed connection to hangle large Zooms or streaming. Without it, you're down to posting videos, and then answering emails.
- hardware
school supported
During the COVID, I knew a teacher that worked for a school using Aeries for grade tracking, Illuminate for attendance tracking (Aeries was used while in classroom), staff emails on Microsoft Outlook, and communicated with students in Google Suite, with work assigned via Khan Academy, and staff meeetings in Zoom. Teachers had to track their own hours in a spreadsheet.video-conferencing
| type | note |
|---|---|
| Meet | Free inside G-Suite. You'll want Google Extensions and/or tactiq. |
| Zoom | educational accounts have dropped time restrictions. |
| BigMarker | java-based, takes plugins for, eg RStudio |
| Skype | 1-1, MicroSoft data collection for the US Govt |
editing
I'll list editors below, but ffmpeg is the only reliable way to edit, sadly. The only way to edit video reliably in Linux is via CLI with a time sheet, clips, and ffmpeg.scheduling
| type | note |
|---|---|
| Calendar | In G-Suite, has an appointments slot |
| Zoom | web-integrated Python, designed to display output in a browser. |
| BigMarker | java-based, takes plugins for, eg RStudio |
| Skype | 1-1, MicroSoft data collection for the US Govt |
equipment
| type | note |
|---|---|
| Calendar | In G-Suite, has an appointments slot |
| Zoom | web-integrated Python, designed to display output in a browser. |
| BigMarker | java-based, takes plugins for, eg RStudio |
| Skype | 1-1, MicroSoft data collection for the US Govt |
| Webcams | Old cell phones are cheapest with USB connection and proper software. |
Zoom
The settings screen appears as seen below; there are probably too many, perhaps 50 settings.
- attendance$$$ (Pro Version or higher) 1) OFF: Allow participants to rename themselves (In Meeting (Basic)), 2) ON: Attention tracking (In Meeting (Advanced)) 3) Go into Reports -> Usage after meeting. NB: renaming is turned off to prevent students from checking in as their friends.
Attendance via focus (2:33) Dr. Veronica Paz (IUP), 2020. How
- attendance (Poor version) 1) OFF: Allow participants to rename themselves (In Meeting (Basic)), 2) A chat transcript automatically appears in the recording folder but you will have to grep or do some kind of script to pull all the names from the file.
Extraction from a file (25:20) theurbanpenguin, 2013. Thorough treatment of data extraction from a file.
Moodle/LMS
Moodle is a good LMS option for the LMS layer, as is Canvas. Can build your own server, or launch Moodle via a Bitnami vendor in Google Cloud for about $5 per months. I have a separate post on Moodle. Moodle works to be compliant with LRS/xAPI connections, since it is content based, not an LRS server. For exams, you'll want to complete SCORM versions, also another post.
Moodle exam contiguration (12:11) Centre for Professional and Part Time Learning, 2019. Exam configuration for an institution, but a lot of good information for anyone's settings.
LRS
In the newer xAPI realm using HP5, and different reporting
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