Numerous teachers are adopting Zoom for classroom education as a result of the development of online teaching all over the world. When you know how to make the most of it, it’s a fantastic resource. Zoom may be a great way to engage with a large group of students simultaneously and address them as if users were in a regular classroom. This is ideal for keeping up with their education in a familiar arrangement.
However, if you haven’t ever done this yet, the experience might be intimidating because it comes with its own set of obstacles and possibilities. As a result, there are a few aspects you ought to get accustomed with and know to use to your favor if you want to make the most of Zoom as a teacher. Getting yourself up to speed with modern technology from the onset will save you a lot of time and resources and also give you a head-start for a fresh start in this new year.
Zoom Tips that All Teachers Should Know
2022 seems to be continuing with this task of working through school via Zoom. This is why learning its best and most useful features and tips can be highly beneficial for every teacher. The following are the top tips and recommendations for teachers to teach online using the Zoom app or website in 2022.
Turn your Audio and Video Off
The first piece of advice is to turn off audio and video before starting a new lesson. Just before you step into a meeting, check to make sure your video and audio are switched off by default. This is particularly beneficial if you are unprepared for the meeting, as you may switch it on as soon as you enter the classroom or meeting. Keep in mind to switch the Host Video option to off then you may choose to turn your camera on when you’re finally ready to start.
Test your Audio
The second wise advice is to listen to your meeting audio before starting to give your classes. Nothing could be more aggravating than entering into a meeting and being inaudible to others or fiddling with the audio settings. However, make sure you complete this step before beginning a meeting, as you may not be able to modify the durations of any classes once the meeting has begun. Next to the mute/unmute button you will find the audio settings option, which includes the ‘test the speaker and microphone’ option. Select that option to check and modify the levels of your audio output according to your liking.
Test the video
The next method for dealing with Zoom efficiently is to check the quality of your video. You may do so by watching the video before your meeting begins. This phase will also give you a head start on your meeting, allowing you to be well prepared with only a few minutes of work prior to the start of class. Then make sure you have adequate light shining on you or stand near a window so your students are more familiar in this environment. Additionally, ensure that your eyes are situated at 1/3rd height from the top of the video frame so that it seems presentable and even.
Enable Waiting Room
In the midst of these new technological breakthroughs, this suggestion is critical for any instructor. Make sure the waiting room option is set to prevent undesirable persons or students who do not belong in your class from attending your meeting. This allows you to accept all of the meeting’s attendees on a personal level, implying that you accept only the persons you choose to accept. Lock Meeting is another safety measure in this region. You may use this option to lock a meeting if all of the students have arrived within a certain length of time. This ensures that no one else joins the class and disrupts it once it starts.
Mute All
Another useful strategy while teaching a class is to turn off the audio for everybody except yourself. By selecting on the ‘participants’ and then ‘mute all’ option, you can achieve this. Then, based on your requirement, you may choose whether or not to mark the ‘allow participants to unmute themselves’ option. You may also use the shortcut ‘command+Ctrl+M’ to get the same result. Use the Mute and Unmute buttons as required to help pupils focus on your class and remain distant from distracting background noises.
Share Computer Audio
Zoom has a lot of excellent features that can help you teach more effectively. You could, for example, want to record meetings in order to distribute or upload them afterwards. Other capabilities, like as screen sharing, let students to view both you and your screen at the same time, which may be useful for things like teaching students how to use Zoom resources, going over exam questions, demonstrating a skill, or providing further instructions. For this, click ‘share,’ then ‘share computer sound,’ and finally ‘optimize screen for a video clip.’ Any video you share with Zoom will sound flawless on your students’ computers as a result.
Adjust Aspect Ratio
If you are showing a specific app or window to your students, make sure the page is stressed out so that it fits exactly on their screens. You may do so by dragging the corner of the page you want to share to a size that properly matches the Zoom page of your students.
Whiteboards/annotations and Animations
You and your students can use the White Board function to create annotations that will be visible to everyone in the meeting. Select ‘whiteboard’ and then ‘share’ from the ‘search screen’ menu. You may now begin sketching whatever you want by using annotations, and you can also add extra pages by clicking the ‘+’ icon in the bottom right corner of the page. You may also save these pages to your PC locally as PNG files. Moreover, you may also use your computer to annotate web pages or anything else you want to educate with to your students.
Space Bar to Talk
Pressing the space bar to speak is another useful tip that is worth mentioning. For this, simply go to audio settings and select ‘press and hold space key’ to unmute yourself briefly. As a result of this step, you can talk every time you hit the space bar, and you will be muted again as soon as you stop. This feature will also assist you in giving your pupils an opportunity to interact and making it feel as natural as possible like a normal class session.
You may anticipate going through a learning curve when getting acquainted to Zoom before doing everything properly. These ideas, together with your own personal experience, can help you make your remote teaching experience as seamless and productive as possible.
