In-Person to Remote Instruction

Moving from in-person teaching to remote instruction is challenging – the vast array of digital tools may seem overwhelming! Advance preparation for teaching online is key – as is setting reasonable expectations for yourself and students.

For a more in-depth look please visit Remote Instruction - Start Here.

This grid outlines ways you can transform some of the things you do in the classroom to remote instruction. These are guidelines and starting points. If you have any questions please reach out to courseware@wharton.upenn.edu

In-Person Instruction Activity

Remote Instruction Counterpart

Classroom Experience

Synchronous classes should use a combination of video conferences (Zoom or BlueJeans) and Canvas to replicate the classroom. Follow these instructions to set up your video conferences.

Discussion

There are a couple of options for recreating the spirited discussions you have in class:

The Chat feature in your video conference can be used by students to ask questions or make comments during class. When using chat, we recommend that:
- a TA or student monitors chat and reports questions/issues for faculty.
- Faculty log into the meeting with another device so they can manage chat along with the TA or student monitor.
- outline your expectations for how you want chat to be used by your students.
Discussions in Canvas are discussion boards accessible by everyone in your class.

Attendance + Participation

To track attendance or determine participation consider using:

Chat in your video conference - Have your students say something in the chat, and your TA (if you have one) take a tally.
Chat in Canvas can also be used.
PollEverywhere - A simple survey can be a good alternative to traditional attendance.
Discussion Boards in Canvas - Create a specific board for attendance and have students post to it as they watch the video/join the video conference.
"Contents" Section in Panopto - If the video of the class has been uploaded to Panopto, you can choose the Contents section from the left navigation pane to review the list of participants.

Keep in mind that some students may be unable to participate live due to time zone differences, internet connection limitations, Coronavirus-related restrictions, and family or personal medical emergencies.

Seeing Students

Within a video conference, there are several view options:

People view: Active speaker is seen on top, with the most recent participants displaying at the bottom. This is the default layout.
Speaker view: Current speaker takes up the entire screen
Gallery view: Participants are shown at the same time in a "Brady Bunch" format. The number of participants available in Gallery view varies according to the software being used.

Here are some common scenarios and the view we recommend for each:

Class Activity	Video Conference View
Lecturing	Speaker View
Whole Class Discussion	Gallery View
Screen Sharing	Speaker or People View

BlueJeans - Views are disabled after 25 people have joined the meeting.

Polls

PollEverywhere can be used to create the polls ahead of time and either add them to your slides or share the link via chat with your students when appropriate.

One-One/Small Groups

Breakout Sessions in Zoom and BlueJeans can be used by organizer to create rooms and assign students to them for randomized group discussion.

For one-on-one meetings or specific small groups, curated video conferences should be scheduled.

Screensharing

Screensharing can be used to share an entire computer screen, or individual applications, including:

PowerPoint
Websites
Office Documents

If you choose to share your entire desktop, be aware that your whole desktop is being displayed, and make sure to minimize or close personal documents and disable personal notifications.

In BlueJeans, click the dropdown arrow on the screenshare icon for more controls → only allow moderators to share screen and/or prevent screenshare takeover.

Whiteboard

Zoom - To learn more about the Whiteboard, see sharing instructions here.
BlueJeans - The Whiteboard app in BlueJeans displays one whiteboard, and you must use a mouse/trackpad to write.

For more suggestions for whiteboard solutions please visit Student Engagement.

Annotation

Use the annotation feature to mark up a slide or document during your presentation.

BlueJeans - If you're screensharing, click the blue Annotate button at the top of the shared screen. If you aren't, click the Apps in the BlueJeans app and then click Start on Annotate. Select the screen you'd like to share and then start the annotation tool to draw and drop text.

Teaching Assistants

TAs can continue to hold office hours via video conferences.

Office Hours

We recommend setting these up as one-on-one video conferences scheduled outside of Canvas. These meetings do not need to be recorded, and signups can be handled via the Appointment Groups feature of Canvas.

Guest Speakers

Guest speakers can join a video conference session and students can interact with the speaker via the chat.

Final Exams

Final exams can be administered via Canvas.

For more information, please:

See our Zoom FAQ or BlueJeans FAQ
Contact your Academic Support Representative
Check out the Zoom Help Center or BlueJeans Knowledge Base

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