iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

What have I learned in a year of constant use of video conferencing? I’ll try to reduce it to a series of points, some of which you may find simple and easy to implement, while others may be difficult, impossible, or no use. But in all cases they are issues that have helped me to make videoconferencing a comfortable tool that I make good use of, and which I needed to appear professional:

As teachers consider their routines for this upcoming year, I encourage them to take the ideas and values that guide the design and facilitation of their in-class work with students and adapt them for the online environment. For example, most teachers use flexible grouping strategies in the classroom based on the objectives of a lesson. They may provide whole group instruction, work with small groups, and conference with individual students. Similarly, teachers hosting video conferencing sessions will want to consider whether whole group, small group, or individual sessions make the most sense given the purpose of that session.