March 2020

Seneca Does Online Teaching

Thank you everyone, for your patience at this stressful time. I think we've got a pretty good plan worked out for finishing the semester online and we can all get through this together.

What's happening to our course?

For the remaining weeks we will have regularly scheduled classes online using BigBlueButton, an online course platform tied to Seneca's blackboard services. I'll send out an announcement with the url.

The announcement will have the following reminders but just to be clear:

Sign in with your name, not as a guest
You can join with microphone or listen only (you'll be able to type questions in chat but not ask anything)
Your browser may ask for microphone/webcam access. Allow access, however mute your microphone until you want to speak
You will reduce bandwidth if you don't share your webcam

Classes will be structured almost exactly as before. The first part will be a pdf of new material. You can watch the presentation on BigBlueButton and/or follow along with the pdf found on blackboard. We'll take a little break and then the test will be online. Then the fun begins!

Wait... define "fun".

BigBlueButton seems fine for me talking at you. I can get some feedback from you through the chat feature and maybe a poll or two but how am I supposed to help you with assignments and work? How can I look at your code? Enter Visual Studio Code extensions.

1) At the bottom left of your Visual Studio Code click the Setting gear icon and then Extensions from the pop up menu

Or click the block icon in the left side toolbar

To show me your code, you need to install Live Share and then start a collaboration session.

2) Search for "live share" and then install Live Share by Microsoft and Live Share Audio by Microsoft.

Share your work with me

3) There will be a new icon in the left toolbar. This icon will open VSC Live Share.

4) You need to login using a GitHub or Microsoft account to start a collaboration session. Your Seneca email account will work.

5) If you're already logged into blackboard you just need to select the account. If not, you need to login.

6) Tell Microsoft you give access to Visual Studio Services client.

7) Click 'Open Visual Studio Code' button to get back.

8) When you get back to VSC give the extension permission to open the link from Microsoft.

9) VSC has already copied the collaboration url to your clipboard. Now you can go back to BigBlueButton, start a private chat with me (or Shopnil) and paste the collaboration url.

It would be awesome if everyone could get VSC Live Share installed before class. You can email me with questions or I can quickly go through steps in class, sharing my screen with BigBlueButton.

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