Conducting Live Sync Sessions

Designing Your Course Designing Your Live Sync Sessions

Before you begin working with your Instructional Designer to create meaningful live learning experiences, take a few minutes to collect your thoughts and develop an action plan. Here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Gather your standard class documentation: objectives, course syllabus, lesson plans, outlines, PowerPoint, class handouts, and any other materials you would normally use to help you prepare for this class. Consider the digital needs of your learners, including concepts like the digital divide, accessibility, and diversity & inclusion.

  • Review your syllabus and identify priorities. Consider which assessments and activities are critical, and which would be nice to have but could be optional.

  • Create lesson plans for your online sessions. Consider thinking about your class as 1-hour to 1-1/2 blocks of time and plan what you want to see in each 15-min block or combine blocks to create longer sessions, here is an example that you can repeat for each hour of your course:

    Sample lesson plan.
    Time Activity Duration Notes
    8:00-8:10 am Welcome/Housekeeping 10 mins
    8:10-8:30 am Introductions/Icebreaker 20 mins
    8:30-8:45 am Lecture Topic 1 10-15 mins
    8:45-8:55 am Large Group Discussion 10-15 mins
    8:50-9:00 am Break 5-10 mins Give people a chance to stand and stretch, use restroom, get a drink, etc.
  • Chunk your content into a manageable sizes. Break information into small bites and group like content. Using the lesson plan outline above will help you plan on the best way to do this.

  • Brainstorm ways you can modify your existing content for online delivery. Don't panic! We will help you with this, but it is always a good idea to think about what you might like to do before meeting with us. Here are some things to consider:

    • While it may be tempting to simply give lectures on Zoom, this may not be the best option. Zoom meetings and webinars will be hard to sit through for long periods of time, both for your students and for you. Make your online synchronous sessions count! Make them interactive and fun.

    • How can your content be delivered in other ways?

    • Can lectures be pre-recorded for students to view on their own time or pause and return to if they need a break?

    • Are there activities that have pre-work that can be done from home so that students are ready to interact when you do have a synchronous session?

  • See what students have to say. Learning what is and isn't working for students in the move to blended learning is invaluable, but is especially important right now as courses are being developed rapidly, iteratively, and under pressure. A blog posted on Monday, April 6th, 2020, Educause Links to an external site..
  • How to stay focused when teaching online. Here are 5 steps to take to help you stay focused and not overwhelm yourself when creating an interactive online experience. An article from Harvard Business Publishing, May 12, 2020 Links to an external site..