Month: July 2020

COVID-19 Educational Technology Glossary

Eric Myers Classroom Technology, COVID-19 0 Comment

The novel (i.e. new) coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has prompted novel (i.e. new) terminology in the field of educational technology.  To keep track of it all, I’ve started this glossary page, which I will update from time to time.   I welcome additions, either in the comments or by email.  I am solely responsible for any mistakes or misconceptions.

COVID-19 – The disease caused by the virus now known as SARS-CoV-21

SARS-CoV-2 – The official name of the virus that causes COVID-19.2

Hybrid – A course which is partially taught in person and partially taught online (no other specification).3

Synchronous – literally “at the same time.”   A course which meets at a regularly scheduled time, whether it is in-person or online.

Synchronous online – a course which is strictly online and strictly synchronous.

Asynchronous – a course where activities are done on the student’s own schedule without specifically scheduled meetings.  The opposite of synchronous.

Asynchronous online – From Open SUNY:4 “100% of the direct instruction occurs under time delay; that is, direct instruction is recorded/stored and accessed later.”   In other words, this course is strictly online with no synchronous component.

Combined online – online instruction (only on-line) which is a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous instruction  (from Open SUNY Online Learning Definitions).   Some people might shorten this to just combined.

Blended – At SUNY New Paltz, at least, the term has been used to mean a course “that includes asynchronous and synchronous online elements.”5.   It might seem at first that this is another term for combined online, but note that combined online requires only on-line instruction, while this definition of blended does not, it only “includes” it.

Local+Remote – a hybrid course which is synchronous, with some students in the classroom and others joining remotely, all at the same time.  This could be a lecture class or a lab. (I coined this myself because nothing else covers this specific combination and I needed a term for it.)

Full Remote – a hybrid course where all students are outside of the classroom.  This could be synchronous or asynchronous.

Half-Remote – a hybrid course where half the students are in the classroom and half the students are remote.  This refers primarily to a synchronous course, in which case see Local+Remote above, but might be used for a class where the remote cohort works on assignments asynchronously.

Hyflex – According to OpenSUNY6  “Combines online and face-to-face instruction simultaneously into one single course section.  Students are able to participate in class in different ways: as asynchronous distance learner (via real-time, video- streaming); as an asynchronous distance learner (accessing materials, recorded lectures, and responding at a later time); as a face-to-face learner (physically present in the classroom); or as a flexible learner (with a degree of choice as to how they participate each week; sometimes face-to-face, sometimes by streaming class sessions, etc.). (New code as of Fall 2019)”  Official classification as a hyflex class requires strict certification that all modes are possible and supported, so don’t use this term unless the course is certified for hyflex.

Extended Virtual Learning (EVL) – essentially the same as Local+Remote (see above).   This first appeared in a chart distributed to the campus community on 10 August 2020 with the definition “A face-to-face class where, at the same time, some students attend in-person while others attend via a remote, synchronous web-conferencing session.”    In online course listings this is abbreviated as “EVL”.7

Split-Shifts – having half the class come during the first half of the period, and the other half of the class come during the second half of the period.  Or a third of the class coming in for a third of the scheduled time.   More appropriate for longer class meetings or labs.  Alternatively, the allocated time can be doubled and then half the class comes during one full period, and then the other half comes for another full period.

Every-Other – an arrangement where one part of the class attends in person on one day, while the other part of the class attends on another day.   For example, if the class has a room reserved on Tuesday and Thursday, then half the class comes in on Tuesday, and the other half comes in on Thursday.

Beak Peaker – a person who is wearing a mask, but their nose is peaking out over the top of it.8

Mask Slacker – a person who does not wear a mask (when they should?).  Originally used during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic (at least on the west coast9).

Covidiot – a person who engages in risky practices regarding COVID-19.  A portmanteau word from COVID-19 and idiot.10

Rat-Licker – From the Urban Dictionary:11 A person who refuses to wear a mask during an outbreak of an airborne virus such as Covid-19. (A reference to the idea of licking a rat during the bubonic plague).

References and Notes

  1. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it ↩
  2. ibid ↩
  3. https://onlineteaching.open.suny.edu/page/hybrid-hyflex ↩
  4. https://innovate.suny.edu/opensuny/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SUNY-and-IPEDS-Online-Learning-Definitions.pdf ↩
  5. https://sites.newpaltz.edu/news/2020/06/faq-for-faculty-regarding-online-hybrid-blended-learning-during-covid-19-and-beyond/ ↩
  6. https://onlineteaching.open.suny.edu/page/hybrid-hyflex ↩
  7. Aside from the fact that this is less descriptive than “Local+Remote” and appears to be an inarticulate pairing of buzzwords (it’s not “virtual” if some of the students are in the room),  I don’t like that “EVL” will most likely be pronounced “evil”. ↩
  8. I coined this myself. ↩
  9. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/f/flu/4810flu.0009.184/1/–ten-mask-slackers-get-10-day-sentences?page=root;size=100;view=image ;  https://www.history.com/news/1918-spanish-flu-mask-wearing-resistance ↩
  10. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Covidiot ↩
  11. As defined in the Urban Dictionary ↩

Local+Remote Lab Classes

Eric Myers Classroom Technology, COVID-19 0 Comment
Local+Remote Lab Classes

This article explains a potential way to teach physics lab classes in the time of COVID-19, in a way that gives students some hands-on experience with the equipment and preserves the collaborative element of working as lab partners. (750 words)

Planning for teaching physics labs in the Fall of 2020 is fraught with difficulties.   One way we might teach labs is to use video conferencing software and extra webcams to allow students to work together to collect real data using real laboratory equipment, in what I refer to as a local+remote arrangement1  (this may also be referred to as EVL.2)  Here’s how it might work:

  1. The class would meet at the scheduled time, but with only half of the students in the classroom and the other half  joining via video. Each student would log in to Blackboard and join the class using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.  The students in the classroom would use the existing laptops for this, which all have a camera and a microphone.  The instructor would also join the video meeting, even though they are in the room (or maybe they are not?)
  2. It’s often the case that the instructor provides the whole class some background information or special instructions at the beginning of the class.  Some of this could be provided via a video recording before class, but the instructor could also present to the entire class by using the document camera. The images from the document camera would be transmitted to the remote students via Blackboard, but could also be shown to the local students using the room projector system. Details on how to use the document camera this way are given here.
  3. When students are ready to begin the experiment, the instructor can assign them to “break-out rooms” in Blackboard, putting one local student and one remote student together as lab partners. The lab partners can see each other and talk to each other to collaborate, but each group is independent of the others.
  4. A webcam is attached to the laptop in the classroom, and the local student can point it at the equipment and share the video from the camera with the remote student. (See Figure 1.)  This would give the remote student a more complete experience of the exercise, even though they are not in the room. Sharing video from an external webcam in Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is just as easy as sharing the screen or sharing an application window.3

    Figure 1: Webcam pointed at a physics lab experiment, and shared via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra
  5. If students working together have a question they can use the “raise my hand” feature in Blackboard to get the attention of the instructor, who can then join their break-out room to help them. If the instructor can answer questions or give guidance via the video link then they do not even have to remain in the room.  The instructor could do this from their office or another room.  If something breaks, or if there is another reason the instructor has to be in the room, then they can assist the local student in person, but then leave the room (or return to the instructor station) when they are done.
  6. If data are saved in files (eg. from Logger Pro) then those data files can and should be shared with the remote student before the lab session is over.  (Ideally the instructor will remind the local student to do so before they leave the room.)  The students may need to be reminded that the computers erase any files saved on them when they reboot.

Notes and References

  1. The term “hybrid” means a course that has both-in person and remote components, but nothing more.  I have been using the term “local+remote” to mean a hybrid class which is synchronous (meets at a certain specified time) where some of the students are in the classroom while others join via the computer, all at the same time. ↩
  2. In an official chart of teaching modalities distributed to our campus community in early August this is referred to as “Extended Virtual,” with the abbreviation “EVL” in on-line course lists.  I don’t like that this is likely to be pronounced “evil”. ↩
  3. It’s also just as easy to share an extra camera in Zoom, except that the option is in the “Advanced” part of the Zoom sharing menu.  WebEx does not (yet?) offer the option of sharing an extra webcam, though you can switch your video to a different camera (which is not quite as good). ↩
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