Synchronous Teaching Using Zoom

Faculty Zooming Into a Zoom Room and an Online Zoom Classroom

• Requirement: CA/TA in the physical classroom

• Students: meet in a physical classroom, students Zoom in

Technical Best Practices

1. Ensure that faculty member’s technology is adequate for Zoom.

   1. Zoom client (Updated to newest version)

   2. Microphone

   3. Headset

   4. Internet connection

2. Conduct a practice session (with CA/TA if possible) ahead of time.

3. Environment

   1. Try to keep your face toward a window or other light source and keep light behind you dim

   2. Try to use an external keyboard and mouse so your webcam can be raised closer to level with your eyes. 

   3. Try to be in a quiet place free from extra background noise or distractions

   4. Be conscious of audio considerations like using a headset or an external microphone. 

Pedagogical Best Practices for this Use Case

1. Screen share any class materials so that students can follow along. 

2. To replicate a “whiteboard” style of teaching, take advantage of new Word documents or PowerPoints to make notes as you are lecturing. 

   1. If using new Word documents or PowerPoints, be sure to upload them in your Canvas classroom in case your students were not able to follow along. If you plan to do so, be sure to let students know at the beginning of the class session so that they can focus more on the content than being concerned about keeping up with note-taking. 

   2. Physical “whiteboards” such as writing on a piece of paper, or using a whiteboard in-person when zooming in are not recommended because students may have issues following along or reading from a distance through Zoom.

   3. Using a Word document or a PowerPoint document while screen sharing can give the live content production feeling of a whiteboard. 

   4. Zoom’s digital whiteboard may also be helpful. Practice with it ahead of time.