ATOM & The Edu Shop

Subject: [BULK] Online Resources for Remote Learning - Web Conferencing & Screen Sharing for Educators

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Online Resources for Remote Learning

Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) is an independent, not-for-profit, professional association that has been promoting the study of media and screen literacy for over fifty years. Our goal, now more than ever, is to empower students, teachers, parents, and film enthusiasts to analyse and better understand the screen products we enjoy.

At this time of increasing uncertainty when educators are all rising to the challenge to move learning to online settings and formats, we are here to support you.

The Education Shop has an extensive online collection filled with ATOM Study Guides, educational resources, fiction and documentary streaming content and much much more. Our resources are adaptable, curriculum-based and suitable for pre-primary up to industry levels of learning.

The Education Shop remains open 24/7

Thank you for supporting us by placing your orders online. We are still processing all orders and we thank you for your patience and understanding if any delays occur in these current times. The health and safety of our staff and customers is our priority, and we are taking all necessary measures to protect you at this time, including contact-less delivery via Australia Post.

Web Conferencing & Screen Sharing for Educators

As we look into the short-term future of teaching and learning in Australia (and around the world), we know many educators are thinking about how best to facilitate remote education for their students in the coming weeks and months. While no doubt education departments and IT teams within schools around the country are researching their preferred options, we thought we’d suggest a few options that teachers can think about or begin to use in the meantime.

There are a great many web conferencing software options on the market. Each of the ones we've listed later in this email include all of the following features:

• Ability to dial-in to the session using a toll-free number – In case of computer or internet troubles.
• Whiteboard tools – Used to sketch out ideas or diagrams for everyone to see. You can also have multiple participants collaborate on a shared whiteboard.
• Slideshow – Slideshows can be a great way to organise the information you’re presenting to your class.
• Screen share – This is vital if you need your students to see something on your screen, or for you to screen a film or clip to your class.
• Cloud storage – In addition to allowing recording and storage of your classes locally (on your own hard drive) for review or catch-up of your lessons.
• Free version offered – Please note: Not every feature listed above is available on every listed platform’s free version. You should also check the terms of use for each platform’s free version, as usage by a school or education department may not be permitted under their terms of use.

Here are some of the best and most popular platforms available:

Cisco Webex Meetings

• Excels at team collaboration features
• Up to 100 web conference participants with the free plan
• No phone support on the free plan

ClickMeeting

• Ability to do online courses and tests
• Includes options for polls and showing teaching materials to class
• Very user friendly
• No tech support over the phone

Google Hangouts Meet

• More business-friendly version of Google Hangouts
• Smooth performance
• Requires G Suite Account to set up meetings / web conferences

Microsoft Teams

• Replacement for Skype for Business
• Included with Office 365 so should be completely free if your school is already paying for that
• Highly customisable and integrates well with other MS Office apps
• Not really designed to work well outside of a Microsoft environment

Zoom

• Very easy to use
• Excellent performance, with HD video and voice across all plans
• Generous free account and competitively priced paid plans
• No cloud storage on the free version

ATOM Awards & Competitions

All of the ATOM awards & competitions are now open for entries including, ATOM Awards, ATOM Photo Comp, 1- Minute Film Competition, Front Page and Jamie Durie’s Groundswell with all entries to be submitted online. The competitions are a great opportunity to promote engagement, exploration and creativity to students.

Metro

And for times of respite? You can look forward to your ongoing subscription of Metro magazineand access to separate articles online.

Remember:

The Education Shop includes hundreds of streaming video titles covering all areas of the curriculum, including an extensive collection of the National Film & Sound Archive of Australia’s short films about Australia, Asia and the Pacific, and ‘60-Second Histories’about Vikings, medieval times and World War I, to name just a few.

Any of these streaming video resources can be screened to your class remotely using the ‘Screen Share’ functionality of web conferencing platforms, including all those listed above.

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