Early in the remote learning efforts of the spring semester last year, we found that many faculty members unaccustomed to teaching online made few adaptations to the new delivery mode other than substituting the Zoom room for the lecture hall. Of course, those who have supported and researched online learning over the past 25 years know that online pedagogies and best practices to achieve active learning are quite different online than lecturing face-to-face.
Much has been learned about Zoom and similar conferencing technologies. Zoom has updated the product monthly and even bimonthly as educators at all levels used the technology. It continues to improve. Zoom was so ubiquitous at the beginning of the COVID pandemic that is on its way to becoming an eponym, joining a long list of trademarked products and technologies that represent an entire field. However, while we use the term generically, several very powerful alternatives have emerged.
Google launched Meet, which was integrated into the hugely popular Gmail system. Daphne Kohler, co-founder of Coursera, has joined a team that launched Engageli, aimed at meeting the needs of higher education. Of course, many of the popular LMS products have proprietary meeting technologies. It is a crowded and evolving market.
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