Come Zoom with ALPs

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Some Examples of ALPs Activities to Experience on Zoom

Given that in-person experiences may not be possible (or some may not feel comfortable gathering, even if allowed) in the Fall 2020 semester, the ALPs Committee is committed to developing course offerings that are virtual experiences. Some of these course offerings could conceivably become in-person experiences, but that is not something we can plan on at this time.

Be assured that ALPs committee members will be offering training and support for facilitators willing to use Zoom. Here are some examples to encourage creative development of virtual experiences that you might offer:

  1. Book/Poetry/Movie Discussion Groups – Similar to the coffee hour discussions of the shared experience of Sunday Services, groups could all read the same book or watch the same movie, then gather with a facilitator to discuss it. Alternately, groups could watch an author’s reading or a writer’s lecture or a movie together, and then discuss.
  2. PowerPoint Presentations – Increasingly, ALPs presenters have offered PowerPoint presentations in classes, which can also easily be done via Zoom. Zoom allows the facilitator to be seen off to the side of the slides being shown (similar to Beau’s offerings in our virtual Sunday services – see this recent Sunday service at just before 8 minutes into the service) but also allows participants to raise a hand with a comment or question after which the facilitator can stop the presentation for periods for discussion.
  3. TED Talk Discussions – ALPs offered over several semesters a TED Talk series in Fellowship Hall, but it could as easily be done over Zoom, as these talks are not protected media (unlike streamed movies, for example, which cannot be shared via Zoom). Search by the topic that most engages you at https://www.ted.com.  Each talk lasts about 18 minutes, and we generally shared 3 talks per 2-hour session selected around a particular topic, each followed by a discussion.
  4. Music/Art Appreciation – If you have electronic collections of music or art that are special to you, those are readily put into a PowerPoint format and shared via Zoom
  5. Virtual Park Visits – See Five National Parks you can visit virtually. If you’ve visited a National Park that offers a virtual tour, you could share their tour, plus your own experiences and photos via Zoom.
  6. Create Your Own Tour – The Jefferson Land Trust is currently offering a Nature in Your Neighborhood class shared through Zoom. See what they did on birds, particularly noting the second half by our own master birder, Dave Rugh. Alternately, you could put together a travelogue similar to Winter Wanderlust presentations.  Again, photos can be put into a slide show or PowerPoint presentation and readily shared via Zoom.
  7. Virtual Gallery & Museum Visit – Many famous art galleries and museums offer virtual tours. Here are a few suggested sites (note: there are lots more online):

ALPs proposals for Fall Semester will be due August 1, and Beau and other ALPs Committee Members will be offering training on Zoom for potential ALPs facilitators in late June and July and technical support through the semester.

Please consider how you might offer a virtual class or a one-time event.  If you wish to explore your ideas with someone who has led Zoom classes/events, please contact one of these ALPs committee members, as we want to help you bring your ideas to fruition: