Introduction

Some of these tips may be redundant to many of you. Many of us have become quite familiar with synchronous teaching and meeting tools in recent weeks. Teaching via synchronous platforms is not ideal, but it has provided me with the opportunity to engage student who are not able to access campus for one reason and another. I think it is quite important to try and avoid getting overwhelmed by trying to take on too much, too soon.

One thing I would recommend is getting familiar with a synchronous meeting platform if you have not already done so. The more you use it, the more familiar you will become and the more you will feel confident to experiment and enhance your teaching. While there are some good guides that elaborate what good online teaching can look like (i.e. best practices), teaching is inevitably individual and creative (i.e. your practices … and indeed your learning journey as a teacher). What we know about teaching and teachers has consistently pointed to the importance of sharing our experience and discussing our work collegially modelling what has been called “critical friendship.” I offer some of what I have learned about the synchronous platform I chose to use, and I hope it may be of some use given that most platforms share pretty much the same features.

Zoom basics

I’ve been using Zoom for about 5 years now and thought I might share some of my experience in the form of a few tips. I’d really encourage anyone to add to this list and turn it into a conversation as we move through this unusual period.

Security is an issue to be considered. When you are setting up a session or a series of sessions, you will be able to tick a box for a number of security features. I think the two most important ones are:
Require a password
Enable the waiting room

The password feature is something you should definitely toggle. The waiting room will allow you to see who is trying to access the meeting. You will need to “accept” anyone seeking entry. It is a bit of trouble if you are new to the platform, but it adds a bit of additional security.

Devices matter. Using a phone or tablet is not a good idea in Zoom, particularly if you are the instructor. In my experience, some students either choose or need to use a phone or tablet, but it is certainly not optimal for the platform, particularly in large groups. Desktop computers can also be trouble because many do not have cameras and microphones. The recommended equipment is a laptop. Most have on-board cameras and microphones. A second limitation of phones and tablets is that screen sharing is more difficult. Finally, on these devices the visual display does not allow the user to see all of the other participants in the session at the same time.

This of course, is an equity issue. Not everyone has a laptop.

Connectivity matters, but there are things you can do. While a good internet connection is obviously optimal, not everyone has this. I have taught some large classes using Zoom in which everyone has sufficient bandwidth for full audio and video participation. In other situations, this has not been the case.
1. Where bandwidth is an issue, turning off video often helps improve the quality of audio. When the audio is glitchy, I will sometimes ask people to turn off their videos. It’s also a good idea to check in with participants to get feedback on their audio and video quality from time to time. Zoom has a chatbox feature that can be good for this.
2. I have also found that it is important to turn off anything running on your computer that consumes bandwidth. VPNs can be really problematic this way in my experience for instance.
3. Relating to the last point, it is a very good idea to have a minimum of windows open on your computer when you are new to the platform. This will make screen sharing easier. I’d recommend though that you do have any screen you will share during the session open on your machine and ready for use.
Turn off video if necessary, but don’t forget the importance of the human face. I think one of the most important features of synchronous online video teaching is the opportunity to see one another, even in the partial and stilted form that a video camera provides. When I started out using these platforms nearly 10 years ago, students were very reluctant to activate video and “appear” in the virtual classroom. This is much less an issue today in my experience. I really appreciate the at least partial visual feedback from my students that video provides. As an instructor, I always keep my video on so that students have a visual reference, whether I’m speaking or listening.
Extraneous sound is trouble. Folks will be entering Zoom classes from their kitchens, living rooms etc. Often there will be noise in the background (pets and kids for instance). I always ask my students to mute their microphones when they are not speaking.
Below I have enumerated the main teaching features in Zoom that I have found helpful:
Audio and video settings are found by clicking the small chevron beside the microphone and camera icons. These allow you to adjust sound levels for your mic and speakers and well as to choose cameras. I would recommend that you be familiar with these but that you don’t mess with them unless you encounter problems.
The chat box is a good space for side-conversations. However, it can be distracting and provide space for irrelevant chatter. The chat box also provides confusion/noise for a visually impaired participant whose central information feed is audio.