In a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article, a research scientist at MIT describes a way to encourage class discussion in a Zoom class. The approach, derived from tech industry practice, is to post a shared document during class and then to lead a discussion of various parts of the document in a shared folder.

He felt that the usual awkward, fragmented “discussion” that can occur in a typical Zoom class is replaced by a dynamic exchange of insights. I think the text-based work we do would lend itself well to this strategy.