Digital Collaging

NAME

Digital Collaging

WHO

Best for online participants only. Perfect for small class sizes up to 15, but can be adapted for larger groups (sharing in breakout rooms). The learner is asked (see prompts below) to create a collage reflecting their personal interest.

DURATION

Depending on size of course, 10 - 30  minutes.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preparation: Enable “Screen Sharing” for participants in your Zoom settings before the meeting begins.

2. Disclaimer: State clearly: “What you make matters. There is no right or wrong way to be creative.” Since creating can be stressful, provide a few examples of what you expect.

3. Guidance: Post directions in the chat, including prompts, Canva.com instructions, and visual examples. 

   1. Feel free to visit this example.

4. Access: Have students log in to Canva.com or Google Drawings using their NYU emails. Note that Canva offers a robust asset library, but students may also search Google for backgrounds and images.

5. Setup: Instruct students to select a “Whiteboard” as their canvas.

6. The 5-Minute Sprint: * 1 Minute: Select a prompt, log in, and brainstorm.

7. 4 Minutes: Create the collage.

8. Atmosphere: Ask students to mute their microphones; they may choose to keep their cameras on. Play relaxing music through Zoom during the creation phase.

9. The Transition: Give a 1-minute warning before asking everyone to prepare to share their screens.

10. Reflection: Ask students to take turns sharing their screens. Instruct them to: “In a few words, explain the meaning of your collage.” If the class is large, select 2 or 3 volunteers to share.

ADAPTATIONS/TIPS

For larger courses or just for time constraints in general, when students share consider either:

• Breakout rooms for students to share with each other.
• Have some students volunteer to share with the whole group.
• Ask students to share the collage in a collaborative discussion board.
• Prompts can be changed to reflect the content areas of the course.  

• For example, a biology student (or group) is given a topic to research to then present to the class in visual form.
   

PROMPTS

• Consider an open-ended prompt to increase multiple perspectives. 
• You can give a number of prompts for students to choose from.
• Examples:
  • What changes would you like to see in your community and world?
  • Who are you?
  • How do you like to spend the weekend?
  • Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
  • What does your future look like?

TECHNOLOGY/MATERIALS

• Zoom with student screen sharing enabled
• Canva.com or a similar platform like Google Drawing or Google Slides
• Music on YouTube or other player.
  • We recommend lo-fi due to no vocals to support concentration.
  • To share your music via Zoom: on the Share Screen window, go to the Advanced tab and choose Music or Computer Sound only. Click share, and then go to your music player app and start the song. You’ll still be on camera in the meeting.