Janine Lim made a Twitter post recently that caught my attention:
@outonalim: "red writing on blue slides looks awful on VC #vctips - don't use red fonts!!"
She makes an excellent point, so I thought it would be a good time to talk about IVC best practices...
A. Wardrobe
Pay attention to the clothes you choose to wear during a video conference. Solid, darker colors work well. Avoid stripes and busy patterns because they can cause distractions and affect the quality of video you send to other locations.
------------------------------
B. Multimedia presentations
If you are showing a multimedia presentation by video conference, please make sure you do the following:
* Use fonts that are as large as possible (at least 36pt font)
* High contrast colors are best (white font on a dark blue or black background works very well)
* Keep it concise
* Try using a tool like Prezi.com to create your presentation instead of PowerPoint, for a little something different
* Use images or a short video, instead of words, to get your point across
* Employ the 5x5 rule: 5 (or fewer) words per line, 5 (or fewer) lines on a slide
-----------------------------
C. Other Visuals
If students make posters, remind them to write large enough so it is easy to read over the connection. Show them how their posters will look over a video conference connection by using Self-view on your VC system. Hold up the posters and see how they look on the screen. Are they easy to read?
A document camera is another way to show visuals. Students can write clues on paper and use the document camera to display them. Sharing objects with the document camera allows you to zoom in to get a better look.
-----------------------------
D. The Numbers
If you're looking for maximum interactivity during your video conferences, work with a regular class size and avoid including multiple classes at one IVC location.
Most content providers request class sizes of around 25-30 or fewer, unless you make other arrangements with them in advance. It's much more fun for the students if everyone has a chance or two to speak during a video conference. More kids = fewer chances to speak.
For collaborative projects, limit the number of classes that participate, so students can share their work more effectively and thoughtfully.
------------------------------
E. Variety
If you are doing a collaborative video conference project, be sure to plan a nice variety of activities to keep your video conference engaging and interactive.
Check out this awesome booklet called Planning Kid2Kid Video Conference Connections, by Janine Lim, Arnie Comer, and Roxanne Glaser for collaborative IVC ideas.
-----------------------------
Do you have other tips for presenting by video conference? Or do you have questions about curriculum-based video conferencing? Please let us know!
DL@gstboces.org
4 comments:
Great tips Cheryl. We're sharing videoconference tips via the tag #vctips on Twitter. You can see them all here: http://www.twapperkeeper.com/hashtag/vctips
Yours have been added :-)
Wow! this is cool. I was wondering if you could share more of the pictures because I would like to propose the set up to my boss though. The points in this blog is really helpful, especially now that I am working on our website.
Another tip - invest in quality equipment.
Learning is more effective when it's interactive. I'll say arm yourself with a sturdy laptop computer and contact a specialist in audio visual service. I got mine addressed by the people from VisoNext
Productivity of a class room can enhanced to a much greater extent through video conferencing
Post a Comment