Teaching Philosophy Online with Zoom
Like many instructors around the country and world, I recently moved my Intro to Philosophy class entirely online as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately I was already well set up to teach online, having a suite of tools that I have been using for my day job as an instructional designer, a paid Zoom account and a high-quality microphone that I use to record my two weekly podcasts.
From the beginning in my career as an educator and an instructional designer, I have been committed to the principle that learning is not complicated. It may not be easy, requiring much effort and focus on the part of both teachers and students. But it isn’t complicated, not nearly as complicated as many educators, administrators, and other instructors tonal designers make it out to be.
My number one goal in moving my Intro to Philosophy class fully online was immediately to ensure that the experience for students was as close to the in-classroom experience that they would get in my physical classroom, but merely through a different medium using various tools for teaching and learning online.
Thankfully Zoom makes it easy for instructors and students to gather together in real time for virtual/online class meetings and discussions. And the combination of Zoom’s screen-sharing and white-boarding features makes it easy for me to show materials, to read philosophy texts together, and even to place ad hoc text on the screen for students to see, just as I would do on the whiteboard or chalkboard in my physical classroom.
I do think it’s important to use a high-quality microphone to ensure good audio quality and a good listening experience for students. No one wants to listen to an hour and a half of low-quality audio from an online instructor, so the minimal investment needed to obtain a high-quality microphone is worthwhile, even if you can’t get your department or school to pay for the cost of the microphone. Below I will post a materials list and links to what I consider to be the essential tools for getting up and running teaching a college class, philosophy or otherwise, fully online.
If you’re curious to see how my very first online class session for my Intro to Philosophy class went, following College of Eastern Idaho’s move to fully online classes for the rest of the semester after spring break and after the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing, here is a video of that first online class session:
For my very first time out of the gate teaching an online class, it went quite well, and feedback from students was universally positive. Of course, it helped that I already had a ton of experience speaking into a microphone from my experience as a podcast host with over 200 podcast episodes under my belt, and from having been speaking into a microphone as a ham radio operator ever since I was 13 years old.
It does take some practice to learn to meter your speech at a listenable rate, and it takes effort to train yourself out of various verbal crutches—saying “um,” awkward pauses, and so on. But that comes with experience, and it’s amazing merely what using a good microphone can positively do to the overall perception and experience of the listener.
So, without further ado, here are my recommendations for essential materials and tools to teach a college class, philosophy or otherwise, effectively with Zoom:
Paid Zoom Account
A paid Zoom account (currently $14.99/month) gives you the freedom to have multiple users for meetings and online class sessions for an unlimited period of time. If you are using a free Zoom account, you currently get unlimited time for only two meeting participants but are limited to 45-minute sessions with three or more participants. Since my online classes typically run about an hour and twenty minutes, a paid Zoom account was essential for me. Thankfully I was already set up with a paid Zoom account that I keep active for podcast episodes with three or more participants.
Microphone: Audio-Technica ATR-2100X USB
I recommend the Audio-Technica ATR-2100X USB microphone. This is an affordable, high-quality microphone, the same one that I use for my two podcasts, that will dramatically improve the quality of your audio while helping eliminate background noise because of its cardioid pickup pattern.
Foam Windscreen
I also recommend a foam windscreen to help reduce breathing noises, mouth sounds, and popping noises from pronouncing word that begin with the letter “p.”
Google Drive / Google Docs / Google Slides
I consider a Google account and its associated tools such as Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Slides, and so on, to be essential for teaching online as well. Google Drive allows you to store your teaching materials and easily share them with your students. Google Docs can be used to create materials and even as a type of notepad for use while you teach online via screen-sharing. And Google Slides is every bit as versatile as Microsoft PowerPoint and runs right inside your browser.
Learning Management System (LMS)
Most colleges and universities are already set up with a Learning Management System (LMS) such as Blackboard or Canvas. If you are already using your school’s LMS for students to submit their assignments (homework, philosophy papers, etc.), then the transition to teaching online will be that much easier because you will already have set up the places within your online course for students to submit their assignments, so that their scores are automatically recorded in the LMS’s grade book for each course.
If, however, you are not already using your school’s Learning Management System for students to submit their assignments, you will likely need to begin making better use of your school’s LMS and create the structure of your course, including the online assignments needed for students to be able to submit their work to you online. This can take some time, but it is time well-spent so students know exactly where to submit their assignments and so you, in turn, know exactly where to find and grade their assignment submissions. You can also use your LMS’s discussion forum features for students to discuss the various topics you are teaching asynchronously to supplement your real-time online class sessions.
Here are links to the Blackboard and Canvas support pages if you need a starting point for creating your online class and/or assignments:
Consulting Services: Online Instructional Design, Online Teaching, LMS Support, Online Course Building
I should mention also that I provide individual consulting services, given my years of experience as an online instructional designer with experience with both Blackboard and Canvas, for instructors, departments, colleges, and universities who need assistance with getting up and running quickly with online courses or with assistance creating online courses or assignments.
I can be reached via the contact form on my website for information about the instructional design / online teaching consulting services that I provide. Whatever your current challenges or frustrations with your LMS as an instructor or as academic department, I can help you get up and running and creating a great experience for your students in these challenging times!
Here is the link to the contact form that you can use to contact me directly for online instruction / instructional design consulting services:
