Resources for Law Faculty On Remote Teaching Due To Coronavirus / Covid-19

Last update 3/31/2020

NEW - List of Guest Speakers for Law School Courses

I have seen many law schools and law faculty sharing information, tutorials, videos, and other information related to maintaining continuity of legal education by moving courses online.  This webpage collects those resources and will be updated.  If you have something or see something you think should be on this page, email me - John Mayer/jmayer@cali.org or DM on Twitter @johnpmayer - and I will post. 


ZOOM-SPECIFIC TECHNICAL ADVICE

Best Practices for Securing Your Virtual Classroom - Zoom Blog
Zoom 101: Securing your Meetings & Virtual Classrooms - Video - Zoom

 


 

VIDEO TUTORIALS

Tracy Norton/Touro Law posted this to HYBRIDJDS@listserv.touro.edu listserv on 3/10/2020  

As promised, I've recorded several videos to help out with teaching online generally and using Zoom specifically. The first two are quick how-tos on equipment that could be helpful and features that help you and your space look camera ready. 

The last two are different recordings of a single conversation between me, Ann Nowak (Touro Law Writing Center Director) and Lynne Kramer (Touro Law Professor, trial ad and negotiations) in which we talk about some practical tips that aren't covered in most help videos. We also talk about using different features for different types of classroom activities. Ann talks about her very interactive online Law Practice Management course as well as individual meetings for the Writing Center. Lynne talks about trial ad and negotiation exercises. I talk about writing courses and feedback conferences. The first of these videos is what Zoom recorded and is, mostly, what participants would have seen. The second of these videos is a screencast so you can see what I was seeing as I moderated the conversation and how I accessed the different features. At one point, I accidentally leave the Zoom room, so the Zoom video records what Lynne was saying while the screencast does not, because I wasn't there. 

Video 1: Equipment Setup (6 min, 14 sec) - https://youtu.be/7_R4UhSAEEY

Video 2: Zoom Feature for Sprucing Up Your Appearance and Your Space (3 min, 43 sec) - https://youtu.be/p0M4kSk2ozk

Video 3: Zoom Recording of a Conversation Sharing Practical Tips (1 hour, 2 minutes) - https://youtu.be/2BueUNvH_oI

Video 4: Screencast Recording of a Conversation Sharing Practical Tips (same conversation as Video 3, just from the moderator's perspective) ) (58 minutes, 23 sec))  - Recorded Using Camtasia - https://youtu.be/Xyp7oyIhA0c


Making the Shift to Online Learning: Emergency Preparedness & Instructional Continuity - Video - Online Learning Consortium


Using Live, Online Sessions to Support Continuity of Instruction - Video - Online Learning Consortium


Tutorial on using Zoom for class instruction - Josh Blackman/South Texas College of Law Houston - article - Thoughts and Tips on Teaching with Zoom
My reactions from, and recommendations for, distance learning


Distance Education in the Time of Coronavirus: Quick and Easy Strategies for Teachers - Seth Oranburg Duquesne University - School of Law - article - Distance Education in the Time of Coronavirus: Quick and Easy Strategies for Professors


Top 6 Tips on Making Educational Videos - Michele Piston/Villanova Law - slides


How to Zoom: An Introduction - Artie Berns/Western New England University, School of Law


 

CALI RESOURCES 

(Go here to find out who has the authorization code for your law school)

ASYNCHRONOUS, INTERACTIVE, SELF-PACED TUTORIALS

CALI Lessons are the original distance learning.  There are over 1000 lessons covering 40 different legal subject areas.  A good bet is to look at the Subject Outline for the course you are teaching, find the specific topics you are teaching and assign those lessons to your students.  Here is a quick list of CALI's Subject Outlines with links to CALI Lessons.  CALI Lessons take 25-45 minutes to complete, so you could replace part of a class by requiring a lesson and use online time to discuss questions.  Contact Sara Smith - ssmith at cali dot org -  with questions. 

TRACKING STUDENT PROGRESS / FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

If you want to track students running lessons and see their scores, then use LessonLink to create a unique URL.  When students run a CALI Lesson using your LessonLink , you can see the their scores and get an analytics report by students and questions.  You can download the data to an Excel spreadsheet too.  Contact Elmer Masters - emasters@cali.org with questions. 

PODCASTS

Tell your students about our podcasts.  We have over 70 podcasts - mostly in Contracts and Secured Transactions.  You can find them here.  

POLLING THE CLASS ONLINE/REAL TIME

If you are teaching online using Zoom or GoToWebinar, you can poll your students using Instapoll.  This is a free service where you go to Instapoll, create a new poll and then give your students the Pin #.  They go to Instapoll and answer your verbal question.  You see the results.  No one has to login - it's INSTANT!  You can clear the results and re-use the same poll or create a new poll - as many as you want.  

FREE CASEBOOKS / SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS

CALI publishes free casebooks and textbooks that you and your students can view and download for free.  These books are Creative Commons Licensed, so you can download the PDF, ebook or even the Microsoft Word file.  See our bookstore here. 

 


 

ADVICE FROM LAW PROFESSORS

Excellent LibGuide here from University of Washington Law


Thoughts for Law Professors Contemplating Moving to Virtual Classes - Allie Robbins/CUNY Law 


Tips for Teaching Law Classes Online in the Event of a COVID-19 Shut Down of Law Schools - Bridget Crawford/Pace Law
Direct Link to the Video 


Teaching a Live Synchronous Distance Learning Course: A Student Focused Approach - Ellen Podgor/Stetson


From the Civpro listserv (From Professor Angela Upchurch/Southern Illinois University Law)

Synchronized communication – If you want to host a class or discussion live online with your students, you might consider using Zoom or Join.me.  I have used Join.me for a course and found it easy to use the screen sharing function with my students.  I have instructions for helping students use Join.me and would be happy to share those with anyone who contacts me off-list. (aupchurch@siu.edu) Currently, Zoom is offering an extended use of their free trial platform to K-12 educators (I don’t know if they will extend this to University users). https://explore.zoom.us/docs/ent/school-verification.html

Unsynchronized communication (video uploads and discussion boards) – I wrote a short description on how to create simple online videos using free or low-cost programs - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2711773  (NOTE: OfficeMix is no longer offering educational services, but the information regarding the free tool www.screencastomatic.com is still relevant).

Streamlined version of online  “office hours” or other group meetings without video - In the past, I have offered online “office hours” via the Live Discussion feature on TWEN.  You can set a time where students can log into the Live Discussion (and you can password protect it if you want to only have certain groups/individuals join).  This allows you to have an instant-message chat board on which to interact with your students.  My students have really liked this feature in the past and I know friends at other schools who have the same experience.  You don’t experience the time-delay associated with traditional message board discussions (or the hassle of a long email chain).  However, you don’t have to be “camera” ready (like you do with video chat options and you don’t have to speak if that isn’t optimal) which helps if people are not feeling well.  Also, TWEN automatically creates a final transcript  that all students can see, including those who aren’t able to join you “live.” 

I’ve also used Zoom and the WL live discussion.  OF the two, Zoom better mimics the classroom, the “live discussion” feature is super-handy and easy to use.   I regularly use it for office hours for 1Ls-3Ls and find some students actually prefer it to traditional office hours since they can be anywhere they have an internet connection and get a transcript.


From Susan Giles/Capital University Law

For faculty who might be making plans that include teaching Civil Procedure remotely, Carolina Academic Press is offering a discounted use of Click & Learn: Civil Procedure (Upchurch, Gilles & Ho).  This fully online tool is “turn-key” ready and can either be used to provide complete, self-contained instruction to law students or can be used to supplement any other online teaching faculty intend to provide.  With over 2,000 questions Click & Learn guides students through the vast majority of topics covered in Civil Procedure courses, without stripping the rigor out of the course.  The students test their understanding as they go, answering questions ranging from basic to mastery level, and receiving feedback and explanations instantly.  From the teacher dashboard, faculty can set any assignment as required or simply recommended.  Click & Learn also allows faculty to track student performance (individually or as a class) and focus online outreach on those topics where the class is struggling.  Faculty members can receive a free account to review Click & Learn at www.clickandlearnguide.com (click purchase).

Students will receive discounted use  ($19.95) through the Access Code:  ATHOME20.  This code would provide students with access to Click & Learn for the remainder of the semester regardless of when they return to face-to-face class sessions.


A Student's Guide to 'Working From Home  - Imran Malek/Boston U Law 3L


Distance Legal Education: Lessons from the *Virtual* Classroom - Jacqueline D. Lipton/University of Pittsburgh - School of Law


Asynchronous Online Law School Teaching: A Few Observations - Agnieszka McPeak/Duquesne University School of Law


COVID-19, Copyright, & Library Superpowers (Part I) - Kyle Courtney/Harvard Law


Emergency Online Pedagogy - William Fisher/Harvard Law


Teaching online on short notice - Shaun Jamison/Concord Law School (Audiostream/Podcast)


Teaching A Synchronous Online Business Organizations Course to JD Students: A Case Study - Ronald J. Colombo/Hofstra Law


Online Self-Assessment Resources for Law Professors and Students - Eric Voight/Faulkner Law


Sign Language for your Cell Phone During Online Meetings - simple and brilliant. 


Teaching through the Pandemic - Part II - Joan Heminway/University of Tennessee Law


PSA for law students and faculty (139) - Hotshot now free for law students and faculty - Bill Henderson/Indiana University Maurer Law - HotShot Legal website 


Zoom ‘Cheat Sheet’ - Craig Ball


Resources About Transitioned Classes and Online Simulations - Noam Ebner/Creighton Law


 

RESOURCES FOR LAW STUDENTS

Moving Law School Online: Resources for Students - Curated by Cat Moon/Vanderbilt Law


Six Strategies for Successful Online Learning - Susan Landrum/Nova Southeastern Law


 

ADVICE FROM ACADEMICS/NOT LAW 

Learning in a Pandemic – 1 - Jim Luke/Lansing Community College
Learning in a Pandemic -2


Law Schools Shift Classes Online Amid COVID-19, But Can They Do It Successfully? - Karen Sloan


Let’s Talk About “Shifting an Entire University Online as Disaster Preparedness”… - Matt Crosslin


How to Be a Better Online Teacher - ADVICE GUIDE - Flower Darby/Chronicle of Higher Education


Please do a bad job of putting your courses online - I’m absolutely serious.- Rebecca Barrett-Fox/Arkansas State University


40+ Tools for Distance Learning (A response to COVID-19)


 


 

RELEVANT TWITTER THREADS

Justin Reich - https://twitter.com/bjfr/status/1237396249189298177 - entire Thread here

@grandeped -  https://twitter.com/grandeped/status/1234831562069377024 

@profjmale - https://twitter.com/ProfJMale/status/1237155808464588800

@socmediaJD - https://twitter.com/socmediaJD/status/1237952603260149761 

Chris Buffafusco/Cardozo Law - @cjbuccafusco -  https://twitter.com/cjbuccafusco/status/1238556497027764224

 


GROUPS

Facebook Group - Pandemic Pedagogy: Law in a Time of Coronavirus - Admin: Diane Klein/U of LaVerne Law