Reaching your OTL goals with macOS

As many learning institutions continue to utilise online platforms to run their classes while still in the cusp of the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), UTAR Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) and Division of Programme Promotion (DPP) of Kampar Campus co-organised an engaging webinar session titled “Impactful OTL: Reaching your Online Teaching and Learning Goals with macOS”. Hosted by Tham Yeong Shyue from DPP and moderated by CFS Kampar lecturer Lionel Keith Vytialingam, the webinar was held on 8 August 2020 via Zoom and Facebook Live.

Outlining the need for continued effective online teaching and learning (OTL) methods as many institutions of learning incorporate blended learning modes, Lionel specified the need for a more varied focus in terms of guidelines and tutorials for operating systems. With the aim of introducing attendees to an alternative and to the more common Windows operating system, Lionel highlighted the exciting opportunities offered by Mac operating system (macOS) to both educators and students alike. The talk was conducted by CFS Kampar lecturers Lim Kun Yin and Chung Zi Ling from the Department of Arts and Social Science.

Lim focused his segment of the talk by introducing the built-in features of the macOS, which due to their versatility, he said, play an excellent role in aiding educators and students in their day-to-day handling of ever-increasing tasks that may ordinarily seem overwhelming and have become characteristic of online modes of education. Beginning with a step-by-step guide on how to create multiple desktops, Lim proceeded to demonstrate how capturing screenshots and screen recordings can assist users in better managing multiple sources of content in their OTL sessions. Attendees were guided through the related short-cut keys to activate screenshots and recordings.

Additionally, Lim provided an in-depth understanding of the role of Mac’s built-in dictionary, which he demonstrated along with its various versions and extensions, is on hand to ease comprehension and completion of tasks. The segment on the built-in features ended with a guide on using the Voice Memo and Stickies in handling workload every day. 

The subsequent segment run by Chung was a comprehensive coverage on various apps that pair efficiently with the macOS in producing an impactful OTL experience. Chung began by correcting the commonly held perception that macOS does not allow pairing or access to some of the most commonly used platforms in OTL, namely Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Word among others. The attendees were given an engaging demonstration first, of how macOS is effectively paired with Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Word via a version of Microsoft Office specially designed for Mac users. In illustrating this capability, Chung engaged with the attendees using a hands-on step-by-step guide. Additionally, attendees were also briefed on two noteworthy apps that contribute to interesting and impactful work product, namely Keynote and Pages.

Chung also went on to introduce Trackpad, yet another app that aids in OTL by its versatile features that allow drawing and writing on documents. This portion of the segment also included a demonstration of gestures necessary in operating Trackpad on the macOS. Before ending her segment, Chung showed attendees how to effectively pair VLC Media Player with macOS and outlined the various input formats supported by macOS, comprising a wide array including MPEG, Avi, mp4, MOV, real, wav, flv, and mxf among others.

The one-and-a-half-hour session ended with a series of questions posed by attendees to the speakers. The full video of the webinar was uploaded on the Facebook page “Utar4U,” via the link https://www.facebook.com/utar4U/videos/612680069638117/ 

The speakers: Lim (top) and Chung (below) presenting their talks