I usually present (live) lectures by using Beamer to prepare a PDF document with slides that are about half-completed, and I then use PDF Expert on an iPad to project this.

The slides contain things like the definitions (which I don't want to waste time writing out) but then I illustrate, explain and give examples using an Apple Pencil. Students can download the half-completed slides in advance, and I publish the annotated PDF at the end of each week.

So I now do the same thing with Zoom - more precisely, I run Zoom on my 6-year old MacBook Air and after greeting the students, I screen-share the iPad screen via Air Play and just annotate the slides as usual. Students are free to raise a virtual hand (though so far they seem reluctant to do so). I simply use the Zoom record feature to record the entire thing to the MacBook Air, and then upload the resulting file to our LMS at the end of the lecture.

I have done it like this for a few reasons:

1. Minimal change for the students - I stick to the regular lecture times and lecture for the same amount of time etc, and they can ask questions. I hope this contributes to establishing a routine for the students working from home.

2. I don't find it easy to give a lecture without immediate feedback as I rely heavily on body language, facial expressions, actual questions to let me decide on the spot if a concept needs another example, or a definition needs more explanation etc. I ask a few students to leave a webcam on so that I can see them and hope that they are representative of the class.

3. I want the students to see me and interact with me while actually working problems - calling me out when I make mistakes, watching me puzzle things out. Too many of my students seem to believe that solutions / proofs magically materialise in their lecturer's heads fully-formed and polished. So when they cannot just "see" the answer to a problem, they simply assume that the magic is not working rather than actually getting out some paper and pencil and start working things out.

4. (Selfish reason here) I don't want to create a unit that can easily be run in its entirety without me. My university was already out of money before this virus started, and now it will be losing tens of millions of dollars. We know from experience that literally the only financial thing the university has in its control is staff numbers. So when this is over, unless some magical money tree appears, the university will be laying off hundreds of staff. I'd rather not create my own replacement just yet.

I usually present (live) lectures by using Beamer to prepare a PDF document with slides that are about half-completed, and I then use PDF Expert on an iPad to project this.

The slides contain things like the definitions (which I don't want to waste time writing out) but then I illustrate, explain and give examples using an Apple Pencil. Students can download the half-completed slides in advance, and I publish the annotated PDF at the end of each week.

So I now do the same thing with Zoom - more precisely, I run Zoom on my 6-year old MacBook Air and after greeting the students, I screen-share the iPad screen via Air Play and just annotate the slides as usual. Students are free to raise a virtual hand (though so far they seem reluctant to do so). I simply use the Zoom record feature to record the entire thing to the MacBook Air, and then upload the resulting file to our LMS at the end of the lecture.

I have done it like this for a few reasons:

1. Minimal change for the students - I stick to the regular lecture times and lecture for the same amount of time etc, and they can ask questions. I hope this contributes to establishing a routine for the students working from home.

2. I don't find it easy to give a lecture without immediate feedback as I rely heavily on body language, facial expressions, actual questions to let me decide on the spot if a concept needs another example, or a definition needs more explanation etc. I ask a few students to leave a webcam on so that I can see them and hope that they are representative of the class.

3. I want the students to see me and interact with me while actually working problems - calling me out when I make mistakes, watching me puzzle things out. Too many of my students seem to believe that solutions / proofs magically materialise in their lecturers' heads fully-formed and polished. So when they cannot just "see" the answer to a problem, they simply assume that the magic is not working rather than actually getting out some paper and pencil and start working things out.

4. (Selfish reason here) I don't want to create a unit that can easily be run in its entirety without me. My university was already out of money before this virus started, and now it will be losing tens of millions of dollars. We know from experience that literally the only financial thing the university has in its control is staff numbers. So when this is over, unless some magical money tree appears, the university will be laying off hundreds of staff. I'd rather not create my own replacement just yet.