Due to COVID-19 lockdown, people are in isolation. With such scenarios, they are finding various virtual ways of working, meeting, studying many more. The pandemic has increased the number of enrollments in learning platforms such as edX, Coursera, etc. They provide various online courses, specializations, and degrees. And those courses may not entirely match the course of the academic degree you are pursuing or the class you are in. They definitely don’t provide the classes of your professor or teacher. In such a case, you need to set up your own environment with your colleagues and teachers to begin the class. In order to be entirely ready to begin your classes, you need to have the right resources. Here I am explaining the resources needed to teach/learn from your home in the best possible way.
Computer
A desktop or laptop with good configuration and condition is an obvious requirement because that is our virtual classroom. Tablet or any mobile device may work but those fancy things may not make you serious about the study. Choose the best screen size so that you won’t miss anything.
Internet
The next absolute requirement is an excellent Internet connection. As your teacher is teaching on the other side, for a better understanding of his/her lectures, the smooth transmission is necessary. If the video cuts off from time to time, you won’t be focused on the class. Talk to your Internet service providers regarding your requirements.
Microphone + Headphone or Speaker
Audio is an important part of a virtual lecture – for the teacher, it is required to effectively deliver the spoken content and for the student to communicate smoothly with the teacher as efficient interaction is the part of the effective teaching-learning. Laptops are equipped with a built-in microphone + Speaker but I recommend using the best you can afford. For drowning out the background noises dynamic microphones are highly recommended mostly on the teacher’s end.
Camera
For the real classroom environment, video plays an important role – the teacher sees his/her students and students see their teacher. This creates a better grip between students and teachers as if they are in a physical classroom. Laptops and tablets are equipped with a built-in fixed camera but if you use a desktop computer or you need a flexible camera, you need to get it separately. This relatively small investment is worthy of improving the quality of your learning. Teachers are recommended to have a good quality flexible camera so that they can show any teaching-learning materials (content on whiteboard or cardboards etc.) they have prepared. To stabilize and elevate a camera you may use a tripod and don’t forget perfect light is important for good video quality.
Drawing tablet
This device is highly recommended for the teachers whose subject requires excessive writing or figures (mathematics, circuit design, etc.) on the whiteboard.
A drawing tablet is an input device, which provides the environment for handwritten text, hand-drawn figures, and graphics, etc. You can write text or draw with the help of a special pen called stylus on the similar way you write on a paper of whiteboards, the difference is that stylus writes digitally.
The device consists of a flat surface upon which the user draws using the attached stylus. The text or image is displayed on the computer monitor.
Software
Software or Apps enables online communication for audio-video meetings, and seminars, with built-in features such as chat, digital board, screen sharing, and recording. Students and teachers from any physical location can use such tools to host or attend virtual classes. As the concept of physical distancing emerged, the importance of effective video conferencing service has increased. To support the flexibility of studying online, there are various tools available. Here is a round-up of the video conferencing services that are mostly being used by teachers and students worldwide.
Beside video conferencing tools these tools may also help making teaching learning process easier.
- Google Classroom
- G Suite
- Office 365 Education
- Google Drive / Dropbox / Onedrive
- A Web Whiteboard
- Formative
- Marshmallow Coding
- Unicheck
- Focus Booster
- PearDeck
- Wolfram Alpha
- TEDEd
- PDF Viewer, Calendar, etc.
You can add any resources you are using for virtual teaching and learning in the comments.
Virtual teaching-learning is not just having a video chat with your friend.
Enjoy virtual classroom. Stay Safe.
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