The functionality of interactive digital platforms in online teaching and learning

Abstract

This paper looks at the functionality of three interactive digital platforms for creating a virtual environment in online teaching and learning - Hangouts Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. These platforms have started being widely used during the 2019-nCoV pandemic. On the basis of a review and comparison of their integrated functions and features, as well as of observations made in the course of their parallel use during the spring semester of 2019/20 at the Department of the Serbian language of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, the author has established that these platforms have the same general characteristics, while differences exist in the area of integrated functions that can be used by teachers and students. Taking into consideration this segment of the analysis, the author concludes that the interactive digital platforms Zoom and Microsoft Teams are better adapted to the implementation of online instruction than Google's Hangouts Meet, as they enable screen sharing and the following of textual communication, direct sharing of sound by means of a sound card, using a chosen photograph to create an appropriate learning environment, textual communication with one or more participants of the teaching/learning process, special formatting of text in messages, the exchange of teaching/learning materials in real time and for the duration of the call, conducting short surveys within the program, and the recording of each individual lesson. However, the paper also suggests ways of increasing the functionality of all analyzed platforms by using simple add-ons and online tools. By providing a detailed overview of all integrated functions, the paper discusses the methodological implications for their more effective use in online instruction.