Online Task Force and Session Managers Saved Our SummerFest

Those lessons learned this summer will also ease the process for new session managers. (More volunteer session managers are still needed. You can contact [email protected] or [email protected] if you are interested in joining the team this fall). The Online Task Force knew from their own Zoom learning experiences that session managers and class participants would need support and help getting familiar with the online technology. As we know from our experiences in classes held in Bard classrooms, there is always plenty of opportunity for technology problems. The key to dealing with them successfully is to have trained volunteers available to solve a problem that might arise.

The Online Task Force has created many tutorial slide shows and links to help members navigate Zoom meetings. They have also created detailed guides for session managers. These may be found on our website at lli.bard.edu. Carmela Gersbeck has written an incredibly helpful guide, “Six Ways to Enhance Your Zoom Experience,” which is a comprehensive Zoom problem-solving set of illustrated step-by-step ways to solve Zoom issues that arise. 

Each class in the fall will have two session managers, with every effort made to pair new and experienced people together. Working together but from different locations means that one person can manage the class while the other evaluates the quality of the audio and video, handles questions that are in the chat, or helps class participants who have technical problems. 

“Every class is a little different,” Jeff Christensen noted, “but we have developed an overall approach and set of protocols that should create consistency.”