Seminars

Your options here are either a mixed (pre-recorded + live) or completely live seminar. Your decision is best made on the basis of your own personal style and the content you are working with. In general, we recommend the mixed approach so that your live portions capitalize on opportunities for student engagement and interaction. In both cases, we aim for a total of 90-minutes of content time (plus breaks).

MIXED APPROACH

1. Pre-record content with Powerpoint (15 minutes). This should cover your key lesson goals, and also the instructions to the application portion of the course. Upload this to Canvas for students to view prior to the seminar. You can also explain what you expect students to do in the breakout rooms and what they should deliver at the end.
2. Schedule a live Zoom session of 90 minutes in Canvas.
3. Use the first 10 minutes for introduction.
4. Use Zoom Breakout Rooms to divide students into subgroups. Use 2x20 minutes to collaborate and practice key skills (e.g., with the Canvas Collaboration tool) with a 10-minute break in-between. Assign (or have students assign) one group member who will report back on their findings after the breakout room session.
5. Use the final 25 minutes to reflect on the assignment in a plenary interactive setting (e.g., each group posts a conclusion, or question in the chat, which you can discuss).
6. Use Canvas Discussion Board, Collaborations, or Live Chat sessions to facilitate student interaction and collaboration during and in-between seminars.

LIVE APPROACH

1. Schedule a live Zoom session of 120 minutes in Canvas.
2. Use the first 25 minutes (max) to cover your key lesson goals, and also the instructions to the application portion of the course. Also make sure to upload relevant instructions onto Canvas for students to have access too during the class since your slides are NOT visible in breakout rooms.
3. Use Zoom Breakout Rooms to divide students into subgroups. Use 2x20 minutes to collaborate and practice key skills (e.g., with the Canvas Collaboration tool) with a 10-minute break in-between. Assign (or have students assign) one group member who will report back on their findings after the breakout room session.
4. Use the final 25 minutes to reflect on the assignment in a plenary interactive setting (e.g., each group posts a conclusion, or question in the chat, which you can discuss).
5. Use Canvas Discussion Board, Collaborations, or Live Chat sessions to facilitate student interaction and collaboration during and in-between seminars.

The mixed option (our preferred approach) ensures that you don’t have to spend much time on instruction during the live session in Zoom and, instead, students can spend more time working on an assignment in the breakout rooms. But, if you want to explain (more) subject matter in an interactive way, then definitely go the complete Live approach.

Breakout Rooms can be very effective to engage, practice, discuss, and collaborate in subgroups. As with offline settings, you can visit each group to see how they are doing and to make sure they are still on task. With the Canvas Collaboration tool, students work together in one Google doc per breakout room and you can track their progress. By adding a short assignment to the Breakout Room session for the final plenary reflection, you increase the students’ focus in the breakout rooms.