Q: What platforms do you use for your online classes?
A: MODG uses both Adobe Connect and Zoom for our online Learning Support classes. We have used Adobe Connect for almost 10 years, and have been trying out Zoom on a trial period starting the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.
Q: I'm concerned about the security of online classrooms. What precautions does MODG take to protect their students?
A: Great question! There is a lot in the news about the security (or lack thereof) of various online classrooms. We will tackle our two programs one at a time.
Adobe Connect: Our Adobe Connect classrooms are very secure! We create accounts related to our Family Site accounts for each student who is taking classes on these sites. These accounts only have permission to access the classrooms for the courses they are taking, and are only able to access these rooms once the host (the teacher) has opened up the room. If the student is logged into the incorrect account, or tries to enter as a guest, the teacher has to approve them to enter the classroom. Our students are given instructions on how to access their accounts. At all times, the host has the ability to remove a user from the room, mute the user, or remove the chat box. Students are only able to chat with the group or the host, and are not able to private message their fellow students.
Zoom: Our Zoom rooms are also very secure! The meeting links are not made public, and are only shared with the members of each specific class. In addition, our meeting rooms all have the "Waiting Room" feature activated, which means that the host has to approve each member that attempts to enter. Because of our small class sizes, and the fact that each teacher has an active roster, this means that they know the name of each student and are able to prevent random guests from trying to enter our rooms. Again, as with Adobe Connect, at all times the host has the ability to remove a user from the room, move the user to the Waiting Room, mute the user, or prevent chat capability. As with Adobe Connect, students are only able to chat with the group or the host, and are not able to private message their fellow students.
If you are interested in a more detailed breakdown of Zoom, please click here.