Numerade is a fully free online education platform whose easy-to-use Office Hours feature can support teachers’ success with asynchronous online instruction. Office Hours allows teachers to easily create beautiful videos on any topic using the built-in recording and whiteboard system, create a playlist from the more than 300,000 existing videos within Numerade, receive anonymous student questions and provide video answers that clarify understanding for the whole class, track student engagement, and more.

Numerade has more than 6,000 hours of step-by-step video solutions to problems in the STEM textbooks and test prep books used in grades 6-12 and higher education, created by a team of 1,000+ PhDs and TAs from universities across the US. These include walk-through solutions as well as full courses in Physics, Chemistry, Math, Biology, Engineering, and Economics. Students whose teachers are using Office Hours will also have access to all this content at no cost.

 

Formats/platforms used:

Office Hours is browser-based and can be used on any web browser, on any desktop or mobile device.

 

Primary URL:

https://www.numerade.com/office-hours/welcome/

 

Problem solved:

Office Hours addresses the following problems and more:

  • All features of Numerade and Office Hours are free, solving problems of budget and accessibility.
  • Addresses the challenges of delivering synchronous remote instruction by providing a functional platform for high-quality asynchronous learning. In this way, Office Hours also supports equity by accounting for the various schedules of students and ensuring they don’t have to miss out on instruction.
  • Allows students to ask questions anonymously, eliminating the hesitation some students feel about asking questions in front of the class.
  • Allows the teacher to create videos to answer student questions, which are made available to the whole class, making it easier to give all students access to clarification and eliminating the need to answer the same questions multiple times.
  • Built-in whiteboard feature makes it easy for teachers to create quality videos, addressing the problem of creating engaging remote content.
  • Simple analytics make it easy to understand if students are engaging with the content, giving teachers information they can use to solve engagement problems. The video-based platform also helps to solve the student engagement problem caused by non-multimedia materials.

 

Primary user age:

Numerade is used with students from grade 6-12 and higher education.

 

Audience served/subjects addressed:

Numerade features videos aligned to the most popular STEM textbooks for grades 6-12 and higher education. Teachers using Office Hours can also create videos for their students in other subjects if they choose.

 

Standards:

When teachers create their own videos in Office Hours, content is aligned to the standards of the teacher’s state and/or school, and to the individual textbook with which the lesson is aligned. The additional 300,000+ videos on Numerade, created by expert teachers across the country, are all aligned with relevant standards according to subject and textbook, including Common Core (CCSS) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

 

Lesson time needed:

Office Hours facilitates asynchronous instruction, so teachers can create lesson videos -- on any content or of any length they choose -- on their own time, and students are automatically alerted when a new video is available. Students can then access the videos on their schedule, and can submit questions to the teacher, anonymously, when they need further clarification.

When used in a distance learning environment, Office Hours facilitates deep learning that can overcome challenges to synchronous teaching. When used in combination with in-school instruction, it allows teachers to explore a flipped model, having students view videos at home so more time is available in the classroom for deeper discussion and engagement.

 

Pricing model:

All content and features of Numerade are completely free. This includes Office Hours, as well as all Numerade video content.

 

Other services included:

Free virtual training is available for school site staff or district staff, to get them started with Office Hours.

 

What makes Office Hours unique?

Office Hours provides teachers with the ability to do all of the following, a combination of rich, easy-to-use features not available through other platforms:

  • Teachers can create daily recorded lessons on their own schedule, supporting students’ continued learning at their own time and pace.
  • Allow students to ask and “vote up” anonymous questions to clarify understanding.
  • Provide video answers to deepen comprehension for the entire class, rather than one student at a time.
  • Easily create beautiful videos using Numerade’s built-in whiteboard and recording system.
  • Track student engagement with easy-access analytics, such as number of views for specific videos.
  • Create an additional playlist of videos curated from Numerade’s 300,000+ video lessons.

 

Here’s what users are saying:

“As my students get accustomed to learning from home, they are starting to ask me questions little by little through Numerade Office Hours.  I think it's a great tool and so easy for me to respond to them. Good job!”

--Heather Zimmers, HS Teacher

 

“We just love what you provide with your service and now we are testing it to teach theory lessons to younger students during this transition time for social distancing!”

--Dr. Steven Hall, Texas University

 

“Thank you so much, I didn’t know this resource existed and I’m just so overwhelmed with joy!!!”

--Destiny Nunez, Michigan State University

 

“Today was day one of distance learning for li'l ol' West Warwick in li'l ol' Rhode Island, and Numerade played a big part in helping so many. Thank you!”

--Monique Rousselle Maynard, HS Teacher, West Warwick Public School, RI