Evolutionary Adaptation of a Muppet

It’s the BIG event today. That’s the STEM Communicators Network‘s annual conference. I’ve just posted the anecdote that ‘the last job interview I went for required a demo of what you might do as a session. I put pins in the bottom of a plastic cup to make an electrolysis cell. For quickness, I didn’t seal the holes with glue, and the cup steadily leaked water over desk for the duration of the interview, becoming an oceanic elephant-in-the-room between me and the panel.

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“Online teaching. How hard can it be?”

So academics have found themselves at home, trying to create learning materials that stand out as good quality in a virtual world. If you were thinking the simplest path was just to record your lecture, you’re in for a rude awakening. It’s a maze of pitfalls and you will lose this game. Here’s eleven things you need to consider first.

Sure, recording video is democratised; anyone with a smart phone can produce something. But especially in a time when everyone is turning to virtual pedagogy, you need to consider the quality of what you are producing. Let me explain.

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