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three methods, physical wipe board standing, physical wipe board table top, digital wipe board from ipad

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How can you migrate a live, in-person class to an online setting quickly, without needing to redesign the class? If you have time to redesign the class into five-minute videos and autograded homework, that's great! But if you don't, here's what you can do.

We will go through three quick options with increasing levels of complexity and equipment/setup needed. I recommend using the most sophisticated of these options that you feel comfortable with.

Option 1: Paper-based teaching

Point a camera at a piece of paper, write on it and lecture. Here's what your setup might look like.

And here's what your student will see:

Option 2: Whiteboard or easel teaching

Point a camera at yourself while lecturing in front of a whiteboard or easel+paper pad. Your setup will look something like this:

And what your students will see:

Options 1 and 2 are much easier with an external webcam, which is sold out on most websites right now. If you don't have a usable webcam, consider Option 3 instead.

Option 3: Writing using a tablet/stylus or using slides (without a stylus)

Here's what your setup might look like:

And here is what your students will see:

If you don't have a tablet/stylus but you do have prepared slides, you can use this option too.

In terms of pedagogical effectiveness, I prefer Option 3 over Option 2 over Option 1. But depending on what equipment you already have and what slides you have already prepared, Option 1 may be easier to implement than Option 2, which may be easier than Option 3.

Some Implementation Tips

For Options 1 (paper) or 2 (whiteboard), get an external webcam. This is hard to do with your laptop's built-in camera since positioning it can be challenging. Any reasonable, modern webcam should work fine. As long as you are able to position the camera where you need it, don't sweat the webcam specs too much. Possibly Option 2 (whiteboard) could work with your laptop's built-in camera, but definitely not Option 1 (paper).

The autofocus on many webcams will have a hard time focusing on the paper and/or whiteboard, leading to a blurry image. Here's what you should do:

On Macs: I use the program Webcam Settings (available in the Mac App store) to control my camera's parameters. Make sure to turn off autofocus.

On Windows: See if the manufacturer of your webcam has free software. Alternatively, the Windows app store sells a program called Webcam System Settings that you can use to disable autofocus and adjust other camera parameters.

In addition, if you plan to use colored pens/markers, play with the camera's sharpness, saturation, contrast, and brightness settings to make the colors show up clearly. Webcams are not designed to film flat pieces of paper or whiteboards, and these parameters can have a huge impact on the legibility of your handwriting. If you use colored pens, these settings will also affect whether the colors show up or if all colors appear black.
Other tips to think about:
Consider buying a USB extension cable. A typical webcam USB cable might be six-feet long, but depending on your room geometry, sometimes a few extra feet of cable can make your life easier (especially with Option 2) when you're trying to position the camera. If you use a new Mac with USB-C ports, also make sure you have a male USB-C to female USB-A adapter for the webcam.

With any of these options, you can also easily switch between projecting a web browser, a desktop app, etc. to show a demo. For example, when coding, I sometimes switch over to a Jupyter notebook in my browser and share (show the students) my browser window in Zoom.

You can also go to Zoom's video settings and uncheck "Mirror my video." The students will see the same thing (an unmirrored video) either way, but this way, the text won't appear to be backwards to you.

Let your family members know in advance when you'll be broadcasting live so you don't end up like this BBC interview.

The Mechanics of Managing a Live Online Class

Just as we are figuring out how to teach online, our students are also figuring out how to learn online!

If you are using Zoom to schedule meetings in advance, here are some recommended configuration settings when scheduling meetings:

1. Set video to "on" for both host and participant

2. Schedule lectures at the assigned time slot for the class

3. Select the following configuration options in Zoom:

Disable join before host

Mute participants upon entry (otherwise there will be a lot of background noise)

You can also record the meeting automatically (so you can post the video for students in far-away timezones). If your institution has the option of saving the recording in the cloud, I recommend taking advantage of that. (Alternatively, you can also start recording manually in Zoom.)

4. When the time comes, log in to Zoom, and you're off!

If you are recording the video, please let students know that you are doing so at the start of the lecture, and also make sure to comply with student privacy laws (such as FERPA). Recording and posting lectures online will be important for students that may not be able to attend live. I strongly recommend practicing at least once-say, deliver five minutes of your lecture to a TA-before the class to make sure you're familiar with all of the buttons, how to use chat, ensure that your ink is visible, and so on. Also make sure that Zoom has all of the needed permissions enabled. If you are planning to ask a TA to host the Zoom session, do a practice session with them. However, Zoom is easy enough to use, so I usually just do this myself.

In addition, here are some ways to make the class more interactive.

Use Chat

One advantage of online, live teaching versus teaching in a classroom is that any student can ask a question in the text chat at any time without "interrupting" the lecturer. I usually keep the Chat window in Zoom open while I'm speaking, so that I can see if someone is asking a question.

To encourage students to ask questions:

At the start of the class, ask everyone to answer an icebreaker question in Chat such as, "Hey, everyone jump into Chat and tell us something cool you did over the weekend!" I particularly like questions that let the students "brag" about something they did. Doing this also gets everyone familiar with the Chat function.

When someone does ask a question in Chat, call them by name and thank them for their question. This will encourage others to do so.

If you want students to answer each others' questions in Chat, you should also encourage this explicitly and thank them when they do. Let's say that a student asks, "What is an RNN?" because you wrote "RNN" without explaining. Another student may reply in Chat, "Recurrent Neural Network." So the question is answered without you even having to break the flow of the lecture.

Sometimes, if a student asks a question in Chat but I don't understand what they mean, I'll also invite them to jump onto audio and explain their question verbally.

During the class, you can also ask questions and get everyone to answer! In a physical classroom, usually only one student at a time gets to answer. But now you can ask everyone to participate. This works best if you ask low-stakes questions where there are no wrong answers. Since students' responses are public, this way there is less risk of embarrassment. For example, I've made requests such as, "Everyone please name one ethical challenge of AI" (where hardly anyone ever gives a wrong answer) or, "Would you use algorithm A or B, and why?" (where both are reasonable choices). This allows you to generate discussion about people's reasoning.

I know you're busy and might not have time to redesign a lot of material. But coming up with a few discussion questions where you can get everyone to participate, and sprinkling them into your lecture, will be a high ROI use of your time. You can then also read the students' responses and give live feedback and commentary on them. If you want to just dip your toe in to start, feel free to start small and try just one or two questions in your first lecture that you ask people to answer in Chat. For the long term, asking one question every 10 to15 minutes would be great, and it will make your online class feel much more interactive.

Encourage Use of the 'Raise Hand' Feature

In the "participant view," there is a Raise Hand button that students can use, which causes a "Hand" logo to appear. (Depending on the version of Zoom you're using, UI appearance may differ.) Many students will not be familiar with this feature, so teach them at the start of the quarter. This is a good way to let students request to jump onto audio to ask a question.

Ask Everyone to Turn on Their Webcams

As an instructor, you will get a better feel of the audience's reaction if their webcams are turned on, and you will be better able to respond to the students. Students will also be more alert if everyone can see each other. Sometimes this isn't possible for a few students (e.g., if they're in a low-bandwidth environment) but we should consistently encourage this. I usually bug everyone to turn on their webcams.

Consider also asking a TA to be responsible for logging in and sending private messages in Zoom's chat (Zoom supports private or broadcast messages) to bug people to turn on their webcams if they haven't already done so.

Recommended Standardizations (for Discussion)

If you do some things in a relatively standard way across your department or university, it will make life easier for students. For example, if they have to search in email for the Zoom link to one class, on Piazza for a second, and on Canvas for a third, it will add complexity to their lives. Let's standardize where we can to make things simpler for our students during this messy time.

I would urge your department or academic unit to consider the following standard "default" practices for any instructors that are comfortable with adopting them. These should likely be discussed as a group to see if the team is comfortable with them.

Make live, in-class attendance mandatory, unless they have good reason not to attend.

Students are already much more isolated than usual, so live participation in classes helps tie the community back together. Also, live participation will improve everyone's experience-the student's, their peers, and yours.

Good reasons not to attend live include being in a very different time zone, a conflicting class, being in a low bandwidth environment, or any other reason that attending live would cause undue hardship.

Ask everyone to turn on their webcam. This will make everyone more engaged. If everyone in your department does this, it will reduce the feeling of any one instructor being the "mean one" who intrudes on everyone's privacy.

Standardize on tools for homework submissions and for discussion forums. For example, I like using Gradescope for homework submission and Piazza for discussions.

Use one place to schedule Zoom sessions. For example, if your university uses Canvas, that could be a good way to schedule Zoom sessions and post videos (while staying compliant with student privacy laws).

For more details and other recommendations, view the full guide here.

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A Quick-Start Instruction Manual for Teaching From Home - EdSurge News

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How can you migrate a live, in-person class to an online setting quickly, without needing to redesign the class? If you have time to redesign the class into five-minute videos and autograded homework, that's great! But if you don't, here's what you can do.

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The app makes a really dynamic document camera, even putting a live video of yourself inside the presentation.

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"If you're asked to teach online, we encourage you to find ways to be present for your students. Your presence is all that many of them have ever needed, and this does not change if you are teaching from your living room or local library. "
- Reshan Richards

Technology enables online teaching, but it also limits how interactions with your students are possible. If you think about all of the different ways you can communicate when in the classroom, technology is yet but an imperfect and limited substitute for a real lesson.

There are ways, however, to go beyond the limitations of remote communication and make the most of the bandwidth between you and your students. All you need to use is a powerful whiteboard!

Be the content - don't let slides steal your spotlight

Let's be honest: using the standard 'thumbnail size' depiction of you to convey emotions and facial expression is like exhibiting a painting on a postage stamp. To be more present for your students, set a live video of yourself as a background to your materials. This way, presenting or writing on a whiteboard will be able to much more closely resemble the experience students had with you in a classroom setting.

To pull off this neat little trick, you need to use Explain Everything Whiteboard on an iOS, Chromebook or Android tablet.

Here are the steps you need to take to make that happen:
Step 1: Prepare your lesson or lecture materials and add them to your whiteboard.

Avoid slides altogether, if possible. Chop your materials up into pieces that you can use independently and keep in a clipboard for easy access. Instead of a presentation, use one, single slide - an infinite canvas you can traverse with the Zoom tool whenever you need.
Step 2: Add a new video object (that is, your front-facing camera).

The camera will provide a live feed of you to the canvas so you don't have to use any other form of video transmission from the conferencing solution you use. With your viewport on the canvas, you control the position and size of your depiction - you can move your frame around or scale it with the Hand tool.
Step 3: Send your frame to the back or (better yet) - set it as a background.

To fix your viewport, use Inspector and set your camera as a background object. This way, you'll be able to present your materials facing the other call participants, just like you would in the classroom. Zooming or scaling will only on materials for even more controlled effect.

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Be more present for students when teaching online

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"If you're asked to teach online, we encourage you to find ways to be present for your students. Your presence is all that many of them have ever needed, and this does not change if you are teaching from your living room or local library.

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the "prove that the crawdaddy only eats when we leave the room" method

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the "prove that the crawdaddy only eats when we leave the room" method

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BUFFALO GROVE, Ill - Over 100,000 Illinois teachers are gearing up for a new school year, many of whom will be teaching from their homes.

Bob Pinta, a teacher from Buffalo Grove, had an idea to make the unconventional learning easier on teachers and students alike.

Pinta saw numerous difficulties when teaching from home last year, from limited space to a lack of connection with his students.

"When we first started e-learning, myself like most teachers were cobbling together textbooks, a ruler, and maybe some tape so when you hold your phone to write on the table, the kids could see it," Pinta said. "So then that weekend, I went out to the shop and designed this."

It's an adjustable wood stand that allows students to both see their teacher's face and what they're writing at the same time. The invention was an immediate success in the area, and instantly gained attention from teachers across the country.

Pinta said his wife suggested that he list his wooden stands online, and he says he hasn't left his garage since. In just two weeks, Pinta has sold over 200 wood stands, with orders coming in from Connecticut to Nevada.

The price for each stand is $30, which Pinta says is to make the stands affordable to teachers. With orders continuing to flood in, he hopes to clean up the shop in time for the first day of school.
Learn more about the cell phone stand here

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Suburban teacher's simple innovation a big hit with others instructing from home

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BUFFALO GROVE, Ill - Over 100,000 Illinois teachers are gearing up for a new school year, many of whom will be teaching from their homes. Bob Pinta, a teacher from Buffalo Grove, had an idea to make the unconventional learning easier on teachers and students alike.

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rigging the iPhone to the bottom bar of the tripod

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Editor's note: This is the first in an occasional series of journal entries produced by City Times staff highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on members of our community.
From day one of spring semester, City College statistics professor Carolyn Thomas brought information to class regarding the now widely known coronavirus, COVID-19. Having followed the case since early January, Thomas said, "I didn't think the semester was gonna start."

Thomas took the initiative to transition her MATH 119 class a week prior to the rest of the school, a testament to how serious she knew the infectious virus was.

"I'm really glad we started a week ahead for very many reasons and one of them was just the learning curve," she said.

In the interview, Thomas explained the difficulties that come with transitioning to online. "It's been a real challenge ... trying to get Zoom to work, oh my gosh, that was impossible," Thomas said, "and then figuring out the Hawkes Learning System (and) connecting it to Canvas."

She also empathizes with students moving a face-to-face class to online.

"One of the things I count on when I teach is to be able to see people's faces and their reactions, and I can tell if they get it or if they have questions, and that's gone," she said.

Although Thomas has not had any students drop the class as of March 20, she assumes that will change through the transition period. "It's a lot to expect from people," Thomas said.

Since that time, the San Diego Community College District announced all classes would remain online through the end of the spring and summer semesters.

Thomas expressed that the general response to COVID-19 was "way too late," later saying that the lack of widespread testing is "criminal."

There was also frustration from Thomas when expressing her concerns to faculty and staff from City College."It was the week before (transitioning classes to online) that I decided to do a 'come out of the closet' as far as the coronavirus, and I became exceptionally vocal at work and met quite a lot of resistance," she said.

Other than a heavier workload at home, Thomas' day-to-day life has not changed. She called herself an introvert and states that being quarantined at home with her spoiled cat fortunately has not negatively affected her.

Thomas advises students who are doing research on COVID-19 to go to reputable sources like www.worldometers.info for accurate graphs and numbers in the midst of daily news updates we see everyday.
Do you have a unique story to share about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your life? Let us know on social media @SDCityTimes or leave a comment below.

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City College math professor 'didn't think the semester was gonna start'

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From day one of spring semester, City College statistics professor Carolyn Thomas brought information to class regarding the now widely known coronavirus, COVID-19. Having followed the case since early January, Thomas said, "I didn't think the semester was gonna start."

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connecting the iPhone as a separate user

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Online Learning: Using a phone as document camera in Zoom

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games for ipad, clip mirror works for document camera

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Osmo's groundbreaking system fosters social intelligence and creative thinking by opening up the iPad and iPhone to the endless possibilities of physical play.

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Weird webcam mod that enables eye-contact conversation

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same as previous

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Here are a few different versions of the pocket document camera attachment for a laptop. This will show the image of whatever you place on/over your keyboard. Our teachers will use this in remote teaching so that students can show their work, and teachers can demonstrate hands-on in front of the camera.

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mirror option on zoom

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It works! This #onlineteaching trick combines visual contact with the audience and the genuine blackboard feeling. 
(No, I did not practice mirror writing, and yes, this is the actual audience screen.) 
A short manual 👇. 1/n

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It works! This #onlineteaching trick combines visual contact with the audience and the genuine blackboard feeling. 
(No, I did not practice mirror writing, and yes, this is the actual audience screen.) 
A short manual 👇. 1/n https://t.co/yaLKYaDr2D

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It works! This #onlineteaching trick combines visual contact with the audience and the genuine blackboard feeling.
(No, I did not practice mirror writing, and yes, this is the actual audience screen.)
A short manual 👇. 1/n pic.twitter.com/yaLKYaDr2D
— Philippe Smet (@pfsmet) August 28, 2020

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It works! This #onlineteaching trick combines visual contact with the audience and the genuine blackboard feeling. 
(No, I did not practice mirror writing, and yes, this is the actual audience screen.) 
A short manual 👇. 1/n https://t.co/yaLKYaDr2D

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
It works! This #onlineteaching trick combines visual contact with the audience and the genuine blackboard feeling. 
(No, I did not practice mirror writing, and yes, this is the actual audience screen.) 
A short manual 👇. 1/n https://t.co/yaLKYaDr2D

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It works! This #onlineteaching trick combines visual contact with the audience and the genuine blackboard feeling. 
(No, I did not practice mirror writing, and yes, this is the actual audience screen.) 
A short manual 👇. 1/n

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click the link to open, 3d printed clip on to you lap top cam

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When your students and teachers need to project their work during Zoom sessions from home. These will go out to all our middle schoolers and their teachers. #remotelearning #documentcamera #laptop #3ddesign #design #designthinking @tinkercad

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When your students and teachers need to project their work during Zoom sessions from home. These will go out to all our middle schoolers and their teachers. #remotelearning #documentcamera #laptop #3ddesign #design #designthinking @tinkercad https://t.co/ByJNkaYxar

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When your students and teachers need to project their work during Zoom sessions from home. These will go out to all our middle schoolers and their teachers. #remotelearning #documentcamera #laptop #3ddesign #design #designthinking @tinkercad pic.twitter.com/ByJNkaYxar
— John Umekubo (@jumekubo) September 4, 2020

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When your students and teachers need to project their work during Zoom sessions from home. These will go out to all our middle schoolers and their teachers. #remotelearning #documentcamera #laptop #3ddesign #design #designthinking @tinkercad https://t.co/ByJNkaYxar

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When your students and teachers need to project their work during Zoom sessions from home. These will go out to all our middle schoolers and their teachers. #remotelearning #documentcamera #laptop #3ddesign #design #designthinking @tinkercad https://t.co/ByJNkaYxar

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When your students and teachers need to project their work during Zoom sessions from home. These will go out to all our middle schoolers and their teachers. #remotelearning #documentcamera #laptop #3ddesign #design #designthinking @tinkercad

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need more like this, using devices everyone has