Getting started with Zoom Synchronous online Zoom class: uses and approaches

The Zoom platform has a variety of tools that can help you fill up the gaps between traditional face-to-face classroom teaching and synchronous online lectures.

All staff at Emory University have access to standard Zoom conference license which allows up to 300 attendees. Ideally you should not have an online classroom with more than 20 participants to keep your students fully engaged in your teaching. However, if you need to accommodate more participants for a good reason, you can request for a webinar license which allows maximum 500 attendees.

Use the checklist below to plan, manage and deliver your online Zoom tutorial class or lecture, where appropriate.


Before your Zoom class
Prepare your content ☐ Keep your PowerPoint slides or any demonstration file simple. GREAT tips for Powerpoint and Zoom ☐ Use easy to read fonts, stay above 12 points and avoid long bulleted text. ☐ Use visuals whenever possible, especially for complex processes or procedures. ☐ Include pages with screenshots of tools which participants will be required to use. ☐ Give clear instructions for learning activities you want your students to participate in. ☐ Practice delivering your content by inviting a colleague to attend and provided feedback. ☐ Hot tip: Invite a colleague who can help to solve technical issues to join your session, or ask for a student volunteer to help you with moderating controls during the session.
Schedule your online Zoom class ☐ Login to Zoom admin page for initial set up. ☐ Enable Zoom link in your Canvas course. https://emory.zoom.us/meeting ☐ Email students or send a Canvas announcement with the Zoom meeting URL in case they experience issues accessing Canvas.
During your Zoom class
Early entry ☐ Enter the room at least 15 minutes prior to class in order to have enough time to load your files and prepare your screens for sharing later in class. Check all the tools you would like to use to see if they are working properly. ☐ Access the Zoom class via the link on your Canvas site. ☐ Always run the Audio and Video set up wizard each time you access the Zoom room. A laptop with built-in mic and camera can be used without purchasing additional equipment, but if possible, use a good quality headset to avoid looping echoes. ☐ Minimise surrounding noise (e.g. silence mobile phones, turn down fan, close doors etc.) and adjust lighting. ☐ Remember to press the 'Record' button if you want to keep a recording of your session, and if you have not enabled the automatic recording feature. ☐ Hot tip: Close any irrelevant running applications which can significantly consume your internet bandwidth.
At the beginning of your presentation ☐ For the first few minutes of the session, welcome students/guests individually when appropriate. ☐ Make it clear how you expect students to communicate with you and others and enforce the rules throughout your lesson (e.g. when to chat, raise hand or speak and how to do it). ☐ *Hot tip:* After the introduction/warm up activity, you can turn your video off. Instead, use a virtual background or profile image so that you can focus on the presenting content. This would also help to save bandwidth for better audio and screen sharing quality.
Facilitation and communication ☐ Interact with your content by using annotation tools. ☐ Keep participants engaged by sharing running applications on your computer desktop. For example, share an Excel worksheet or what is on your web browser. ☐ You can restrict what participants can do (e.g. the ability to use annotation tools, share audio or video, post a chat message etc) by enabling the restrictions options. ☐ Speak clearly, smile, and do not rush through your content.
At the end of session ☐ Thank students/guests for their attendance. Reports are available on your Emory Zoom account: https://emory.zoom.us/account/my/report ☐ Stop the session recorder and make sure everyone has exited the session as the recording link will only be generated once everyone has left.
After your Zoom class
Reflection opportunities ☐ Watch your recording to review what occurred during your session. ☐ Identify activities or interaction that did not go as you planned. ☐ Make adjustments to your material or activities for better results in future sessions.
☐ Send the recording link to participants or post it in an appropriate venue in your Canvas site (e.g. announcements). ☐ Hot tip: To view the Zoom recording, you can login to your Emory Zoom account https://emory.zoom.us/recording and use cloud recording to export mp4 video file and upload in a Canvas page via Studio tool. Or share the cloud recording link to your Canvas site.

Noted links:

Long Live the Zoom Class Chat
The chat solves education problems we didn’t even know we had.

https://slate.com/technology/2020/10/long-live-zoom-class-chat-remote-learning.html

Live Online Video Classes Are ‘The New Face-to-Face.’ So How Many Students Can They Handle at a Time?

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-04-16-live-online-video-classes-are-the-new-face-to-face-so-how-many-students-can-they-handle-at-a-time