How are you finding teaching online?

Bearing in mind that it's only Day 3 of this 'experiment', Games Design is already working very well. There is lots of engagement in a very similar way to 'being in college'. 

What platforms or applications are you using to engage your students?

I have the group on Discord. It's a bit like Teams but for gamers. (Lots and lots of gamers use Discord.) 

Discord allows me to move between the FMP projects very easily and retain student independence. We can share videos, images, and sounds and discuss them in real time. Because I’m in front of a computer too it allows me more input visually, I can draw and sketch concepts, send diagrams, links etc. In this respect, it’s a little more useful than standing at the front of a classroom. 

How is this kind of learning benefitting yourself and your students?

One thing I've noticed already - and it might seem like an obvious thing - is that the amount of verbal instruction and questioning that goes on with each student is huge!

 

Looking back through the conversations I've had with students online. There’s been a great deal of discussion already. It's interesting as this verbal back-and-forth normally floats away into the ether and is never part of the 'final outcome'. Teaching online captures the real time cooperation between student and tutor. It's enhancing the idea of what I do. Perhaps the 'final outcome' is the lengthy exchange?

 

So it seems there has been a rather positive shift online from the physical classroom and with the possibility of going online for the foreseeable future, we are definitely off to a good start.

 

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