What
Due to the demands of the Fall 2020 semester, instructors adopted inventive course model designs adjusting their course delivery to more of a hyflex mode. Instructors aimed for course design that allows for maximum student learning and engagement with course content, peers, and instructors yet also enables students to join in-person or remotely, as needed. David Harwood designed his course, GEOL 125: Frontiers in Antarctic Geosciences, using the approach of the CAS In-Person Leading model. It provides for content, interactions, and activities delivered primarily in-person while also accommodating any online or virtual learners. Harwood decided to combine features of VidGrid and Zoom in order to meet the course learning objectives in this flexible course design modality.
Students attend live Zoom class sessions ‘in-person’ or engage off-site one day per week (on a scheduled rotation with other students) and participate synchronously from a remote location the other days. For the synchronous class sessions, in-class and off-site students are all on Zoom and using ‘Chat’ for questions. ‘Chat’ questions are reviewed in the last 10 minutes of class by in-class participants who ask the most important questions during a Q&A period, which then serves as review for the entire class.
Class sessions are recorded in VidGrid, not Zoom, which allows Harwood the ability to insert questions and summary comments within the VidGrid recording. Students review the recorded videos after class. They answer the questions and read the instructor comments, which provides a second opportunity to build comprehension and further engage with the learning content. Note: These in-video questions can be set up as graded Canvas quizzes also.
Why
- Facilitate engagement and understanding of the geological and climate history of the Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
- Provide instructor presence in the new hyflex learning environment
- Enable flexibility to attend class in-person or remotely, as needed
- Facilitate a seamless transition if a shift to total remote learning were required later in the semester
How
To set this up:
- Watch Harwood’s video Using VidGrid and Zoom together
- Set up Zoom class meeting for class sessions, and share the link with your students.
- Launch VidGrid Recorder. Customize recording frame over content item (map, .ppt, other). You might want to enable the video to show your face in an insert box on screen, especially at the start of lectures so your students see you engaging with them.
- Open your Zoom class meeting. Your students join and ask questions in chat during class.
- Record the class sessions in VidGrid.
- After the video is published, insert questions and comments. Post the VidGrid videos in applicable course modules. Direct your students to answer the questions and review the commentary. You may assign the students to answer these questions for course credit, if desired.
Recommended Resources
- Harwood, David, VidGrid video: Using VidGrid and Zoom together
- VidGrid tutorial: Recording a Video
- VidGrid tutorial: Adding In-Video Questions
- VidGrid tutorial: Adding In-Video Comments
Contact Information
Dr. David Harwood, dharwood1@unl.edu
Professor of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and a Dean’s Fellow of the CAS Teaching Academy
Eyde Olson, eolson2@unl.edu
Instructional Designer, Center for Transformative Teaching
Pedagogy
Technology
Comments
Thanks for sharing
This is great! By the way, you can record in Zoom to the cloud and it will create a transcript and then you can download the recording and load it to Vidgrid to add your questions on the timeline. I also add the video recording as an assignment in Canvas and mark the students who are on the attendee report in Zoom as complete for the assignment and the students who did not attend will be able to earn credit for attendance after they watch the video.