BioScann can be run remotely almost identical to how it is run in the classroom. The main difference is that you will use Breakout Rooms in Zoom to place students in Expert and Jigsaw groups. (If you aren’t using Zoom, contact us and we can try to figure out what will work for you).

Timing

BioScann works best when it is run consecutive days. We have had teachers run BioScann while meeting twice a week – and it may be OK to meet once a week as well. The downside of meeting less often is that it requires more time at the beginning of class to reorient students to the lesson. 

Remote classes take longer because they require downtime while the teacher manages breakout rooms. You can cut down on class time by:
• Pre-recording opening lectures (especially if classes are under 45 minutes)
• Have students pre-read bioscann.org before class to focus on discussion
• Have students complete the Day 5 career exploration outside of class time

Asynchronous Learning Materials

For those who have students that can’t make it to a synchronous Zoom class, we have created materials that let them experience some aspects of the BioScann curriculum. For each day, there is a slide deck that guides the students through their tasks and a worksheet with questions. The worksheet can be handed in for grading or accountability. These materials are available in the Google Drive folder or from the Box download.

For Days 1, 2, and 4, students will think about the daily problem from the perspective of two different roles that have conflicting information. While students will not get the experience of debating about five different sets of data with their peers, they will get to understand the challenges of the drug discovery process. We’ve created the materials so that the students get exposure to multiple careers. For Day 3, since there is only one set of data, asynchronous students will have almost the same experience (minus group discussion). Note: these resources will also work if you have students that miss a class.

Zoom Tips

There are a lot of great YouTube videos out there explaining the various aspects of Zoom. The best way to learn is to play around with the program. We highly recommend downloading the Zoom Client for Meetings for access to all of the program’s features: https://zoom.us/download

These videos have great advice on screen sharing with a slide deck with PowerPoint and Google Slides:
https://youtu.be/psPpv1rWyTI and https://youtu.be/g34pCscCdPU 

This website explains how to set up and use breakout rooms:
https://it.tufts.edu/guides/audio-and-virtual-conferencing-zoom/breakout-rooms

Before Class

• Pre-record  lectures
  •  You can use EdPuzzle to create checkpoints for students during video lecture
• Plan out and practice breakout rooms
• Ask students to commit to asynchronous or synchronous. In a classroom it is simple enough to move students around if any are missing from an Expert or Jigsaw group. This becomes much more challenging during a virtual class.
• Have a backup plan for when Zoom fails (eg. have students call each other or communicate through a chat platform).

During Class

When students are in breakout rooms:
• Have one student log in to bioscann.org and share their screen
• The person sharing their screen should be the scribe for the group
• Students can use Google docs to fill out the worksheets/workbook
• Float between breakout rooms to check their progress
• Send a message to the whole group using the “Broadcast Message” feature
• Send messages to individual breakout rooms using the “Chat” feature when you are in a breakout room
• Students can use the “Ask for help” button to call the teacher to their room