(Check the department calendar for scheduling information: https://www.physics.smu.edu/web/seminars/)
The Department of Physics understand the challenges that faculty and students face in the current COVID-19 pandemic. To maintain our teaching mission while respecting human health, we are working hard on improving our digital teaching skills. Teaching Hack-a-Thons are a way to share expertise while people develop their course frameworks in real time.
The Hack-a-Thons will continue throughout August and are first intended for faculty, but can be opened to graduate students upon request. Lessons from the events are being collected on a page and are open to all:
What is a Hack-a-Thon?
This is a workshop where you actually come to work. There is no set presentation or lecture; you just show up, start working on your class(es), and when you get stuck (or if you already had questions) you just ask for one of the mentors to assist you. You come and go as you like. Mentor/faculty pairs can talk in person, socially distanced, or we can setup a Zoom breakout room where you can all work until you are done.
The only time to “lecture” is if enough people seem to run into the same problem; then it might be helpful to share the solution with everyone present, but this should only take 5 minutes or so.
(N)etiquette
In the physical room, all persons must maintain distancing of 6 feet or more. Masks must be worn at all times as well.
That means no sitting side-by-side to help each other out. This is a similar situation to what you might experience in a hybrid (“SMUFlex”) course or an in-person-only course with your own students. How do we help each other out? Zoom is the answer.
Get into a breakout room (a mentor can put you in one along with the appropriate expert). Share your desktop with each other to show where problems or issues have arisen, and talk with one another to help resolve the problem. In the physical room, we can also project your desktop onto a screen or TV and talk in person about what to do next to accomplish your goal. There are many options.
You can drop in and drop out as you like. There is no need to stay for the whole 3 hours.
