You can use a variety of tools for online small group discussions. We have outlined solutions, rated them for the effort required, and identified key considerations.
Resources
Comparisons
You can use a variety of tools for online small group discussions. We have outlined solutions, rated them for the effort required, and identified key considerations.
Before selecting a tool to host your next webinar, find out what you need to consider.
Before selecting a tool to host your next webinar, find out what you need to consider.
Experts & Communities
Share ideas with other members of the University community who are interested in using technology for teaching and learning.
Course & Media Prod
The CEI collaborates across the University to advance effective teaching and engaged learning.
Participate in discussions and events with faculty, students, and staff who wish to integrate video technology into their work.
Participate in discussions and events with faculty, students, and staff who wish to integrate video technology into their work.
Participate in discussions and events with faculty, students, and staff who wish to integrate video technology into their work.
Good Practices
Take a strategic approach to create a course community that helps students work together and learn from each other.
Instructors often use classroom discussions to promote sharing and ideas about a subject matter. Sometimes, discussions can become rote and tedious, or engage only one or a few students and the instructor.
Instructors often spend a majority of classroom time on lectures, leaving little time for other learning opportunities such as group discussion. Capturing content is one method to address this challenge.
Instructors often spend a majority of classroom time on lectures, leaving little time for other learning opportunities such as group discussion. Capturing content is one method to address this challenge.
Preparation is key to producing effective instructional videos. Get tips for preparing what you will present, as well as for being on camera.
Resources
Sound can make or break a multimedia production, whether it’s an audio slideshow, a documentary video or an interactive narrative.
Article from Geekazine on some simple tips that help with making video conferencing of all types a more pleasant experience for everyone.
Helpful points on making a better live recording.
This video will provide a walk-through of the features of the 1:Button studio.
Content chunking, for instructional design, is the strategy of breaking up content into shorter, bite-size pieces that are more manageable and easier to remember.
Good audio is critical to your elearning success. You might be a great instructional designer and create the most engaging courses possible. But it all falls apart if the audio quality in your course is not ve
In a recent study, researchers identified the design factors that were most valued by participants in terms of promoting an engaging online learning experience.
The best discussions keep everyone active, either by sharing or thinking. Even those students who rarely, if ever, contribute can still participate in other ways.
This presentation will introduce a rubric-based method of auditing online courses for their maturity on three dimensions of development.
Good audio is an essential component for a good meeting.
Building branched scenarios with your rapid elearning tools is actually pretty easy to do. These tutorials shows you how to do so.
We recommend the following steps for those who are just getting started with Canvas at the University of Minnesota.
Chunking is a concept embedded in the world of instructional and information design.
This source is an example of a branching scenario that provides practice in cultural awareness for noncommissioned officers.
This is an example of a branching scenario that provides methods for dealing with office issues.
Simple steps for embedding YouTube videos and playlists.
This LinkedIn Learning video covers foundational concepts of lighting, such as why light is important, what kinds of lights to look for, and where to put lights relative to a subject.
Find out how to get started in video production and editing.
Short article from 9to5 Google on how the use of Google Drive app within a hangout has been removed. Now users are to use the chat box for sharing any Google Driv items.
Learn about Google Hangouts on Google's help site.
The Google Hangouts Meet Help Center can help learn how to start and join meetings and use different settings in the meeting.
Webpage with link to download Google Video Calls (Hangouts) plugin required for most browsers to enter a video call.
Short video from Ronnie Bincer about how Google (Hangouts sometimes auto-mutes participants.
Web page from Google with information on how to start a Google Video Call (Hangout), including how to set up your computer and computer browser in advance.
Google+ brand pages offer ways for organizations to reach out to followers, fans, and customers on Google.
You can easily communicate with your family and friends through Hangouts in Gmail. You can make phone calls, have face-to-face video calls, and share photos.
Overview of how to use Google Video Calls with Google Calendar, including how to add a video call to a calendar event.
Chunking is a concept that originates from the field of cognitive psychology.
The key is to design tasks that are truly collaborative, meaning the students will benefit more from doing the activity as a group than doing it alone.
Video conferencing offers a variety benefits to the University community, including the following:
Presence is the most important best practice for an online course. Learn techniques to establish instructor presence.
This is one of the many interview style videos the Libraries have created in the Sound Stage Studio
This LinkedIn Learning course teaches you a project-based approach to the aesthetic and technical aspects of video editing.
To be effective, online curricula illustrating communication behaviors need face-to-face interaction, individual role play with feedback and discussion.
To request an appointment for Rarig Studio C, email [email protected]
Access group work resources from this past Educause concurrent session.
Library Media Services provides comprehensive course support for the integration of media assignments into teaching and publishes related case studies.
This resource is available to all University faculty and staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact us if you need assistance at [email protected]
Online discussions are a great tool to extend classroom conversations and learning by getting students to engage with class material online.
The use of discussion forums as a vehicle for learning is based on the pedagogical tenets of collaborative learning theory, which call for collaboration between participants, experimentation, and open inquiry.
The Office of eLearning provides faculty and staff support for Quality Matters,
Email [email protected] or contact Technology Help to request a consultation to understand what options are availabl
YouTube is a video sharing service provided by Google, and all users must abide by Google's terms of service.
Quick article from Teacher Tech (Alice Keeler) on how to choose which video has the main focus in a Google Video Call (Hangout).
This source provides samples of branching scenarios for different professions.
Tips and tricks to help you record quality videos with your smartphone.
How-to article from Google on creating an unlisted Hangout on Air to record a Google Video Call.
Student media assignments engage students in course content and provide opportunities for reflection and deeper learning. See examples from the College of Education + Human Development.
This short, 4-minute video walks you through the process of making a recording using TechSmith Relay.
The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) created this checklist to help instructors create effective online courses.
Learn how to set up a branching scenario properly, no matter what tool you decide to develop it in.
Selecting technologies for teaching and learning should be part of an approach to course design that aligns learning objectives, assessment and course level goals.
Move Recording
To move a recording to your Content folder, follow the instructions below.
This LinkedIn Learning video shows how to use the calendar to invite others to the meeting, and activate video chat to see each other along with other features.
The Office of Information Technology’s (OIT) role for the University of Minnesota’s video conferencing environment will be to provide best practices to nurture this technology.
Operation guides are available in room as well as online for the following rooms with video conferencing capability:
We recommend all room installations at the University of Minnesota conform to our standard technology architectural model which provides encryption and standardized hardware and room controls.
Support for an in-progress video conference
For immediate help with a video conference that is in-progress, call (612) 626-4444 and select option 1.
We provide on-site video assistance for conferencing, events and meetings.
The interview sections of the this video were recorded in the Sound Stage Studio
Typically we create the following types of videos: presentations, interviews, discussions, demonstrations, animations or a blend of two of more types.
This LinkedIn Learning video will show you how to set up mixers, wireless mics, and booms, and make sure your camera is correctly set up to capture audio.
This LinkedIn Learning video teaches the fundamentals of portrait lighting, including standard three-point lighting setups, how to light for specific subjects, and how to deal with the challenges of location sho
Video conferencing classrooms and meeting rooms are both available and in development across the University system campuses.
Compare web conferencing tools available at the University; always start with your objectives before deciding on the tool.
When should you go to the trouble of designing a branching scenario? See some examples.
Directions on how to add subtitles, closed captioning, and transcriptions to a YouTube video.
YouTube directions for adding subtitles, captioning, and transcriptions to YouTube videos.
Find how-to articles on using YouTube.
Find how-to articles on using YouTube.
Learn answers to commonly asked questions on this YouTube site.
The following are examples of how University of Minnesota groups have successfully used YouTube.
As the host, you can control who meeting or webinar participants are allowed to chat with.
Use the controls below the flowchart to enlarge it. Click on the links in the blue ovals to learn more about each option.
Before Your Meeting or Webinar
Set up Registration.
Self-Help Guides
This self-help guide takes you through the basic process of building a Canvas course site from the ground up, starting with creating and linking content, building assessments, and choosing final course settings.
Hold an online meeting using the Google Hangouts App.
Kaltura is a media management platform for teaching and learning purposes.
Use this self-help guide to learn about and find resources to help with the video production process.
This self-help guide will help anyone who presents at, schedules, or supports online meetings and webinars through Zoom. To learn more about using Zoom for online office hours or smaller meetings, check out
Zoom, an online video conferencing system, is now available to the UMN community! Compare Zoom to Google Hangouts
User Stories
Why capture a guest expert lecture or presentation on video?
The benefits of student group work are well documented:
Demonstration videos help students learn because they can both see and hear the proper way to do things at every step.
Simulations provide students with:
Demonstration videos: