Introduction

As we all make the transition to teaching online, some staff academic staff members may choose to use Zoom. SETU has an institutional license and all staff and students in SETU will have an account at their disposal.  However, before you jump straight in and start using Zoom there are some considerations you might want to think about before you start. First up, what is Zoom, well in a nutshell it's a video conferencing platform that allows high-quality video calls for meetings, webinars, etc and it has lots of functionality like chat, breakout rooms, screen sharing, etc. 

Teaching Online

These are just some tips that we have learned as we have been using Zoom and also feedback from colleagues in the institution. Teaching online is not that different than teaching on campus, the teaching skills are the same, with some technical challenges thrown in. These technical challenges may seem daunting at first, however, there are lots of resources and support available.

Equipment and resources

This may be obvious but as Zoom is a video conferencing platform having a webcam is a must, most modern laptops will have a webcam built-in and if you have a desktop then think about purchasing a USB webcam. Make sure you are set up with your SETU zoom account, if in doubt check with the CTEL team, send an email to moodle@setu.ie to check.

Preparation and practice

If possible, practice using Zoom with colleagues, friends, etc. before you set meetings with students. This allows you to get used to scheduling meetings, using the Zoom controls such as sharing your screen, start-stop video or audio, using the chat facility, enabling the waiting room and more.

Zoom Controls

Make sure you are comfortable with the Zoom controls before you start into online classes. We would recommend that you start to get familiar with the basics first, start/stop video and audio, sharing your screen or an application like Powerpoint or PDF files, switching between screen and application is also easy, just do a new share. So start off with the basics and work your way through the other controls.

Before your class

As you would normally, do decide on the topics you want to cover in class. The only difference is you are in a Zoom meeting. So, you will have to have your notes ready and opened on your PC so that you can share them. This is more or less the same as logging into Moodle and projecting your module notes up on to the projector in a classroom.

Recording Meetings

You have the option to record locally. This means that when the meeting is ended by the host, the recording will be stored on your own computer.

If you record in the cloud, the video will be stored on your Zoom account. You can sign into your SETU Zoom account here - https://wit-ie.zoom.us/

If you use the Zoom plugin in Moodle, your recording will also be stored in Panopto. If you schedule meetings inside the Zoom plugin in Moodle, you will also have meeting management options such as deleting the recording and only hosts can record meetings.

Note: Only you and the students enrolled on your module will have access to the recordings, see here for more information on access to modules

Scheduling Meetings

Zoom is integrated into Moodle. Lecturing staff can create a Zoom activity inside their module then schedule meetings inside that Zoom activity, these meetings will appear in your Zoom account either on the web or on the App which is available for download, and you will also have stats available to you by using the Moodle activity.

Using Breakout Rooms

Zoom breakout rooms allow you as the host to place groups of students into different "Breakout Rooms" during a meeting. The breakout rooms can be setup before the meeting or you can set them up on the fly during the meeting. In order to use Breakout Rooms you must have the setting turned on for your Zoom account, to check just log into your zoom account here and goto you settings for 'Meetings' and make sure Breakout Rooms is turned on.

Next, when you schedule ameeting you can auto create breakout rooms by ticking the Breakout Room pre-assign box, this will allow you to create a number of rooms and it also allows you to upload (using a CSV template that zoom provide) the students to their rooms, so all you need to do is create the rooms, download the template and place the student alongside their desiginated Breakout room.

During Meetings/Classes

1. Use your fist class to lay down some ground rules
2. Use Zoom’s screen sharing functionality to present your slides to students while you narrate them. You can share your PowerPoint slides, a PDF, a web-browser with some tabs, etc, just to a "New share" to switch between applications or documents.
3. An important part of lecturing in any format is taking breaks to ensure that your students are following along (“conceptual checkpoints”) and/or to provide opportunities for active learning. Use an online timer and share this window while on a break.
4. Polling, After covering a particular concept, provides students with an opportunity for practice and feedback using the Zoom polling feature. Ask a multiple-choice question about the concept to check for student comprehension.
5. Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down, Sometimes a simple “if you can see my screen, select the thumbs up button” can be a good way to ensure that students are following along.
6. Use Zoom’s breakout room feature to facilitate this type of discussion. Instructors can randomly assign students to breakout rooms or they can selectively group students together (e.g., assigned teams). Faculty members (i.e., the Zoom host) can circulate among the breakout rooms to check-in with students.
7. If your video quality is poor and bandwidth is an issue, turn off your video and rely on your computer audio, this should improve the quality.
8. Ask students to “mute” themselves as a default setting to avoid distracting background noises. Have students “unmute” themselves when they want to talk or they could raise their hand. You as the host can mute all participants ion a single click.

Watch the screencast.

Technical Support

If you have any questions please email moodle@wit.ie