Instructor tech setup

Keypoints

  • Screenshare: portrait layout instead of sharing entire screen

  • Prompt: adjust your prompt to make commands easy to read

  • Readability and beauty is important: adjust your setup for your audience

  • Share the history of your commands

  • Get set up a few days in advance and get an outside reviewer

Screenshare

Compare the following two screen-shares (you can find many more in the coderefinery manuals:

https://coderefinery.github.io/manuals/_images/screenshare-fullhd.png

FullHD.

https://coderefinery.github.io/manuals/_images/s10-kickstart-prompt-log.png

Portrait, latest proposed best practices.

Share a portrait layout (left or right half of your screen) instead of sharing entire screen.

Motivation:

  • This makes it easier for you to look at some other notes or to coordinate with other instructors at the same time without distracting with too much information.

  • This makes it possible for participants to have something else open in the other screen half: terminal or browser or notebook.

Adjust your prompt/configuration/colors

Adjust your prompt to make commands easy to read. What looks good for your own work (many terminals, small font, extensions, shortcuts, color scheme) is usually not the best for other people watching you. Adjust your setup for your audience. Remove distractions.

You need to spend some time getting set up before you teach. 10 minutes before the session starts is typically too late. Get set up a few days in advance and get an outside reviewer.

Should instructors be forced to have a consistent screenshare?

There are pros and cons to all instructors using the same screenshare and prompt.

  • What are the advantages?

  • What are the opportunities of instructors showing different setups?

  • How does it depend on the lesson and the experience of learners?

Share the history of your commands

Even if you type slowly it is almost impossible to follow every command. We all get distracted or want to read up on something or while following a command fails on the learner laptop while instructor gets no error.

Add pauses and share the commands that you have typed so that one can catch up.

More examples and how to set it up

Exercises

Evaluate screen captures

Evaluate screenshots within the instructor tech setup lesson. Use the collaborative document to make a list of the trade-offs of each one. Which one do you prefer? Which are useful in each situation?

Set up your own environment

Set up your screen to teach something. Get some feedback from another learner. We will discuss among the class.