WHY THIS BOOK AND WHY NOW?
"In March of 2020, because of COVID-19, many colleges and schools around the world closed, and many teachers and faculty members scrambled to learn how to teach online in a hurry. Since then, lots has been written about how to teach live online sessions and how to master the different aspects of the technology involved. How to set up your screen windows when you teach online? Should you use the chat function? Do you use breakout rooms, and if so, how? For many of us, it was overwhelming. Even paralyzing.
This book is an attempt to help professors and teachers take a step back and make sense of all the chaos. My hope is to provide you with some useful pedagogic principles and practices that have served me and some of my colleagues well, and that I hope will guide you in your journey to develop your online teaching skills."
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ARCHON FUNG
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor and former Academic Dean at the Harvard Kennedy School
Harvard University
"The COVID pandemic has forced millions of teachers in elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and universities around the world to re-think their basic craft. How can we facilitate learning through a thin stream of electrons that produces fuzzy images and delayed audio? Every single one of us should read Teaching Effectively with Zoom. Written by one of the most effective teachers in the business, Dan Levy offers highly practical guidance about how to utilize the many features of the ubiquitous Zoom platform — from polling to chats to breakout rooms — to achieve a wide range of pedagogical objectives. This book will certainly make you a better teacher on Zoom, but it will also make you a better teacher in the classroom when we don’t have to rely on Zoom anymore."
DAVE MEYERS
CEO and Co-founder of Teachers Connect
"Thank you, Dan Levy, for taking us beyond backgrounds and breakout groups – and for putting the student experience at the center of the online learning discussion. The sudden COVID-induced shift to e-learning has been a ferocious jolt; in a blink, the methods used by K-12 teachers to assess student understanding in real-time, get students collaborating on rich and meaningful problems, and keep the learning exciting and engaging have been ripped away. In his “what-to-do” manual, Levy combines a strong base of the science of learning with real-life examples from his classroom and those of his colleagues to put those learner-centric goals within reach again. And the techniques are doable! As I read, I kept thinking, “I can do that.” Check out Chapter 4 on the variety of ways to use polls to get a quick check on student understanding. In my career as a K-12 classroom teacher, instructional leader, and teacher developer, I’ve always wondered about how much attention higher ed professors pay to teaching outcomes. In 15 years of “talking shop” with Dan, I can say with great confidence that he’s an outcomes geek, and I’m grateful that he’s directed his energy toward this absolutely essential guide. Read it today, and reach more students tomorrow!"
ALLISON PINGREE
Senior Instructional Coach, Harvard University, and Winner of “Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award,” the highest honor that POD bestows on a member.
"This eminently practical, reader-friendly guide offers instructional wisdom that will make newcomers’ entry into teaching online easier, and gives even seasoned instructors some fresh strategies and tips. As Dan Levy pulls back the curtain on his own teaching journey, he shares a wealth of detailed explanations, frameworks, and grounded practice. His approach to the book mirrors his commitments as an educator and colleague: when learning comes first, effective teaching will follow."