Delivering lectures online in real time

Zoom is a video conferencing application where many individuals can join the same meeting and share audio and video. It also allows for screen-sharing and presentation mode. There is also the option to record the session to your computer so that you can upload it to your Canvas site for individuals to view on demand.

Equipment you will need:

• A device with a good internet connection.
• Headphones, speaker or earbuds. 
• A microphone (if possible, a separate microphone can be better than your device's built-in).
• A web camera (optional, preferred for face-to-face contact).

A few tips and tricks

Mute all participants

Meeting participants don’t always realize their microphones are on. You can mute everyone’s microphones except for yours so that they don’t disrupt the class. See this article on Mute All And Unmute All for instructions.

Require participants to raise their hand

Direct your students to select the “raise hand” icon to ask to speak so they don’t disrupt the flow of the meeting. You can determine whether they unmute themselves or you do it when you call on them. Enable nonverbal feedback to use the Raise Hand option. Share this article with your students: Raising your hand in the Zoom classroom.

Using breakout rooms

You can break your students into smaller groups in their own meeting. As the instructor, you can join any breakout room. See articles on enabling breakout rooms and managing breakout rooms.  We recommend that you do not pre-assign breakout rooms. This feature is currently not functioning as expected.

Teaching remote and in-class simultaneously

Some instructors plan to deliver lectures in the classroom and in Zoom simultaneously. While many classrooms have equipment to use Zoom, they are not necessarily configured for a hybrid delivery mode. Most microphones in classrooms are intended to capture the instructor’s voice, and the camera faces the instructor at the teaching station. Any questions or conversations from students are not audible or visible to people attending remotely. Additionally, students in class cannot hear or see students attending remotely. So that all students can hear all information, we recommend that you repeat (into your microphone) any questions from students and provide a summary of any dialogue that occurs.