For the past 2 months we found ourselves teaching, learning, working, having job interviews, connecting with family and friends and even celebrating birthdays virtually. Regardless of the platform used, the mere frequency and intensity of these video-conferences have left many of us quite exhausted. Being always connected, it seems, is not as pleasant and easy going as we thought.
In the past days I read a few interesting articles where scientists explain why online synchronous communication is more tiring for the brain than talking to people in real life. Don’t despair: if it all gets too much, there is always the good old phone. If you want to find out more, here are a few articles worth reading:
Have you ever wondered why video chats require a lot more energy and focus than face-to-face meetings? In this article you can read possible answers and a few solutions for the weeks/ months to come. Here is a memorable quote:
“Most of our social roles happen in different places, but now the context has collapsed. (…) Imagine if you go to a bar, and in the same bar you talk with your professors, meet your parents or date someone, isn’t it weird? That’s what we’re doing now.”
In The New York Times analysis Why Zoom Is Terrible, psychologists, computer scientists and neuroscientists explain how the distortions and delays inherent in video communication can increase the feeling of isolation. Here is an interesting analogy:
“In-person communication resembles video conferencing about as much as a real blueberry muffin resembles a packaged blueberry muffin that contains not a single blueberry but artificial flavors, textures and preservatives”
Focusing more on the educational aspects, Zoom Boom provides an interesting overview of experts’ views on the limits of synchronous instruction.
Synchronous delivery might be “the best option for your particular circumstance, but it should be a thoughtful decision considering several factors - not simply that you think your students need to see your talking head.”
What does all this mean for teaching and learning?
In the beginning of the coronacrisis many teachers thought videoconferencing and lecture recording would be the best ways to move forward as they started to teach remotely. The former would bring immediacy and help preserve the “classroom feeling”; the latter would allow them to deliver the content in a similar way to what they do when teaching face-to-face. However, beyond issues of security and accessibility, synchronous online teaching in itself did not prove to be as effective as expected. The key in online learning is finding a good balance between various types of activities and modes of delivery- synchronous and asynchronous.
Daniel Stanford (@dstanford) -Director of Faculty Development & Tech Innovation at DePaul University’s Center, Chicago wrote an excellent guide on how to find the alternative(s) to videoconferencing that best suit your course.
There is a lot of food for thought. But I guess my main point is: why not take some time to think whether Zoom meetings are really the best (and only) way to deliver your course. You might be surprised to discover that even an “old fashioned” discussion board can sometimes be quite effective and engaging when your focus is on learning design and not on the tools.
I’m sure I’ll revisit these topics in the next weeks, so watch this space!