FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS I've been using video conferencing facilities (such as the one above), first with my laptop and now with my Samsung Note 9. I think some of the hard-learned skills could be put to good use if we have to close our campus to stave off COVID-19.
Today, I used my Zoom.us meeting room as the first mention of a major assessment concerning a module about Content Management Systems. I had my Powerpoint deck on my laptop, a 10 euro Bluetooth headset plugged into my ear, and Moodle.LIT.ie pointing students to the meeting details. I saved the cloud recording from Zoom of the short briefing.
After my short briefing, I watched students dive into the tasking. They could review the Powerpoint deck by scrolling through Moodle. They could collaborate with team members using their own back channels (some prefer Messenger or WhatsApp, others like Slack or Discord).
I'm blessed by having the attention of focused third level students in the second year of their BSc Honours Degree. I know my lab briefings often take less than 10 minutes with notes detailed on both Moodle and inside O365 Class Notebooks. Nonetheless, the taskings are sophisticated representations of work that junior web developers would be expected to perform in the workplace.
I've worked with a wide variety of students while teaching them hands-on skills through immersive learning techniques. If the Corona Virus hits our campus, I think 88 students I have in four different modules will prove the viability of third level learning powered by virtual learning environments.
FOOTNOTE: It takes time to produce the sort of content best suited for flexible learning. And it often takes more time to monitor and assess the items produced by students who have no physical contact with teaching staff.
[Bernie Goldbach teaches creative media for business on the Clonmel Digital Campus for the Limerick Institute of Technology.]
