Tips & Tricks: Teachers Educating on Zoom

Starting a Class

● If it’s your first time using Zoom, visit the Educating Guide: Getting Started on Zoom and complete the steps in advance of your class to get you set up.

● Schedule your class in the Zoom application for your desired date/time and copy the invitation details to send to your students. *Please note that students will not need to register for an account to join.

● Join your class a couple minutes early to ensure a proper connection then follow the below tips for a quality online learning experience.

Tips and Tricks for Virtual Lessons

● For your first class, set aside some time to introduce your students to Zoom and ensure that they’re able to connect their audio and video.

● Give an agenda or plan for each class by Screen Sharing a document or slide at the beginning of class. This gives students a clear idea of how the class will progress, what will be covered, and the activities they’ll engage in.

● Discuss online etiquette and expectations of the students in your first virtual class and periodically revisit the topics.

● Utilize the Whiteboard or Annotate a shared document and let your students engage as well. When sharing a whiteboard, document, screen, or image, try whiteboarding math problems or have a student use annotation to highlight items such as grammar mistakes in a paper you’re sharing.

● Take time to promote questions, comments, and reactions from your class. Give a minute to allow your students to utilize reactions, write their questions in chat, or be unmuted to ask their questions live.

● Divide into smaller groups for a discussion on a certain topic. You can use Zoom’s Breakout Room feature to either pre-assign or auto-assign students into groups for a short period of time so they may discuss things together.

● Have students be the presenter and share projects with the class. This allows your students to show what they’re working on while practicing their presentation skills. It also allows students to hear from one another.

Ideas for Using Zoom in Your Synchronous Course

• Bring students at multiple home locations, classroom sites or field sites together via video/audio conferencing

• Invite guest lecturers to your courses for interviews, presentations and conversations. Record these sessions for further use as instructional content.

• Provide visual meeting space for students outside of regular class time and for online courses.

• Provide virtual office hours for online courses.

Teaching Over Video - Delivery Tips and Tricks

● Pre-set your meeting to mute participant’s microphones upon entry. This helps to avoid background noise and allow your students to focus on your lesson.

● Look at the camera to create eye contact with your students. This helps to create a more personal connection while teaching over video.

● Take a second to check chat or your student’s video (if on camera) to check-in with your students and get feedback.

● Speak as if you’re face-to-face with the class while ensuring you’re at the appropriate distance from the microphone for the best audio experience.

● When delivering a presentation, sharing images, files or video, give your students a moment to open or take in what you’ve shared.

● Embrace the pause. Take a moment after the end of your comments and allow for students to engage before continuing on.