Over the past 12 weeks, I've been experimenting with Flipgrid, WebEx Teams and Echo360 in my Global Health course of 125 students. Here are some thoughts:
I took previous feedback about Flipgrid overkill to heart this semester. Instead of having multiple Flipgrid assignments, I created only two. I did still ask students to introduce themselves on Flipgrid so that we could learn each other's names and pronouns. I also asked students to take a stance on vaccine policy. Do they think vaccines should be mandatory? Or should families have the option to decline vaccination for certain reasons? I wanted them to articulate their stance on Flipgrid, then watch their peers' videos and reflect on what they learned.
Overall I think this was a good application of Flipgrid. Some students used stickers to cover their faces, which is absolutely fine. Some students noted their discomfort in their reflection, and I think it was a good learning experience for them and for me to find ways to make this assignment accessible and meaningful for everyone.
I also used WebEx teams to communicate with the class and with individual students. Having Teams allowed me to connect with students more easily and answer their questions quickly. I had no issues with students using Teams inappropriately. I think it made it easier for students to engage with me and the course, and that's a good thing. I asked students to use WebEx Teams for their group work. I've collected some feedback on this process and I look forward to reflecting on it in a future post.
What I'm most excited to share is my experience with Echo360. I used Echo360 to create interactive slides, promote online discussions and share replays with searchable transcripts. Overall, the process of adopting this entirely new technology was pretty easy, and my students loved it.
I'll share some specific feedback in my next post. For now I'll share this wee reflection: When I started teaching last January, I knew I wanted to incorporate active learning. Unfortunately, I knew very little about the tools available to me at McMaster. I used to cut up pieces of coloured construction paper and distribute them to my students so they could raise the colour that corresponded with the correct answer to a multiple choice question in my lecture slides. My students thought this was adorable but I wanted something better — something that would encourage engagement and give students a chance to assess their learning. I also wanted something I could integrate into some form of participation grade without strictly requiring students to come to class (life happens and I want to accommodate that).
Echo360 was an excellent way to engage students in class or remotely if they couldn't make it in. We had a couple snow days this semester and I was able to keep everything on schedule because of Echo360. I knew the students would love having the replays and transcripts, but what they loved most were the interactive activity slides. Almost all of them agreed that Echo360 enhanced their learning. It was the perfect replacement for my arts and crafts version of active learning last year.
Stay tuned for more specifics, but for now know how happy I am to have experimented with all of these tools. I'm also grateful for the support of Christa and others on campus who are committed to creating learning spaces that meet the needs and expectations of our students.