Zoom has made videoconferencing teaching a whole lot easier. If you or your students are unable to meet in person, Zoom can assist you in keeping your lessons running. When students are remote, synchronous online class sessions in which everyone attends via Zoom meeting at a scheduled time, is one approach to create participation. Other teaching and learning scenarios can also be supported by Zoom. Zoom may be accessed via laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones and even a landline, providing students a variety of methods to attend the classes.
Zoom is effective in learning and teaching
By minimizing unnecessary travel time, video communications like Zoom has the potential to boost productivity and efficiency, allowing more students to complete courses in less time. The goals of education are supported by e Learning:
It reduces training costs in that using one teacher teaching a class using video conferencing results in reaching students at distant locations for a much lower cost.
Video conferencing is not bound by time or geographic locations, hence the impact of training on productivity is handled. People are equipped with the tools and skills needed to enhance performance.
Students can access the class sessions anytime and anywhere.
Because students can attend classes on their own schedule and from any location, graduation rates are higher.
People who have to commute to class can now complete their education online.
Students with special needs can attend classes without having to travel.
Educators and administrators from colleges and universities were surveyed in a recent TechValidate study. More people will be able to earn advanced degrees owing to video conferencing, according to 88% of respondents. Video conferencing in learning is expected to lower student dropout rates according to 73% of respondents undertaking the survey. In the next 5 years, 87% aim to boost their investment in online collaboration tools.
Teach effectively using Zoom
You're ready to schedule your class meeting after you've logged in. You simply need to get the login link from the Zoom app and distribute it to your students. You have the option of starting the meeting immediately or scheduling it for a later date and time. When hosting a meeting, the desktop version of Zoom will provide the maximum result and functionality.
Understand host controls and tools
Host controls allow you to manage the attendees and control many features of a Zoom meeting as the host. The co-host function allows the host to share hosting responsibilities with another user, letting the co-host to take care of the administrative aspects of the meeting, such as managing attendees and starting/stopping the recording. At the bottom of the screen is a control toolbar.
Select your mic source, test your mic and speakers, then mute/unmute your mic with the mic tool.
The video tool provides identical controls for operating your camera, as well as choices for converting to 16:9 widescreen and HD, as well as a helpful function for enhancing your camera's look and setting up a virtual background.
If you forget to invite someone, the invite tool will send them a link using your default email provider; alternatively, you may use it to invite all of your participants instead of using the app.
If someone has bothersome background noise that is interfering with your session, you may use the “Manage participants” feature to mute all participants.
You may also use icons on the screen to show participants if they would like to tell the presenter to hurry up, slow down, or raise his or her hand to ask a question.
You will be well on your way to hosting a meeting if you know how to use these few tools.
Prepare in advance
Prior to utilising Zoom, familiarise yourself with it.Ensure that your audio and video are functioning. Make sure there is enough light on your face and that your desktop and background are clear of distractions. When giving a presentation, practise looking at your camera rather than the screen. Experiment with sharing your screen.
Examine your meeting settings and host controls. Decide if you'll have additional hosts or co-hosts, mute participant microphones (which is advised for larger groups), or record the session for later use.
Prepare for uncertainties. If screen sharing does not function, consider having slides or discussion topics accessible in advance so that students can access the information. Consider the likelihood that students will have poor connections and won't be able to hear or see everything clearly.
Make use of the additional features
Share screen: Use Zoom's screen sharing feature to show your slides to your students while narrating them. Post discussion questions on your slides so that students with a poor Internet connection or difficulty hearing the audio may see them.
Record tool: You may record all or part of your session using the “Record” button. The free version of Zoom only enables you to save files to your local drive, however the paid versions also allow you to save to the cloud. If you are using the free version, you'll have to upload the file to your course site or another cloud repository to distribute it to students because it may be too large to send via e-mail.
Closed captions: Some people might find it beneficial. For captions to show on the screen, you'll need to have someone type the current dialogue, or you may get a link to enable a simultaneous captioning service.
Breakout rooms: When you want students to engage in small group discussions, “Breakout Rooms” allows you to accomplish this virtually when you normally do physically. You have the option of having Zoom assign students to virtual groups automatically or manually. Zoom numbers groups by default, with the ability to rename them. Groups can have time limitations and a countdown timer set, and as the meeting host, you may drop in on groups to observe. Students can report on their discussions in the same meeting or in the following virtual or face-to-face conference after participating in Zoom breakout rooms.
Livestream on Facebook or YouTube: You may live stream your Zoom session on Facebook or YouTube by clicking on the three dots at the top right of the screen. If you wish to deliver a lecture to a large audience outside of your class, have an open panel discussion, or have your students share their work more widely, this is a highly appealing option. Viewers of your live presentation can leave comments using the Facebook or YouTube chat options; however, this functionality is only accessible in licensed Zoom versions.
Engage your participants
Zoom's features may be used to guide a variety of interactive activities. These tasks provide varied ways of expression to break up a long class session.
Chat: By allowing more students to interact with the live action rather than just listening, the chat function can help to increase engagement. This tool may be used to offer feedback to your audience during a presentation or to send private messages to students about specific aspects of their work. The advantages of the “chat” tool over traditional classroom are:
- Get a large number of replies to a question right away.
-Determine where students stand on a given subject or argument.
Screen annotation: You may utilise Zoom's basic annotation tools to guide students or clarify a subject, using text box, free form draw/pen, shapes, and highlighter. When sharing your screen, use the Annotate option to access these features.
Polling: You may create anonymous or identifiable response polls in before or during the meeting using Zoom. After you've covered a subject, use the Zoom polling tool to give students a chance to practise and give feedback. This tool is useful for a variety of purposes, such as asking students to rate your class before leaving the meeting, or polling students' knowledge or opinions throughout the meeting.
Non verbal feedback: Enable the non-verbal feedback function in your meetings so that students may communicate with the teaching staff without disrupting the discussion. Check in with students on a regular basis to address any nonverbal input. You may also utilise this function to control vocal feedback by instructing pupils to utilise the "raise hand" option to signal when they want to talk. Encourage students to use the "speed up" and "slow down" buttons to indicate whether or not they are following along with the lecture. Using the thumbs up button may sometimes be an effective approach to guarantee that students are paying attention.
Once you're familiar with Zoom's operating capabilities, you'll want to concentrate on making your lesson engaging. Keep your presentations to a maximum of 10 minutes for each segment. Then, before continuing with your lesson, provide opportunity for students to discuss topics or give presentations. Allow students to use "Chat" to ask questions about what is being taught. Finally, Zoom's dependability and a plethora of effective teaching features make it a tool well worth including into online and blended learning.
Sources:
https://harvard.service-now.com/ithelp?id=kb_article&sys_id=4c3290f6db5b845430ed1dca4896197f#start
https://zoom.us/docs/doc/Tips%20and%20Tricks%20for%20Teachers%20Educating%20on%20Zoom.pdf
https://www.cmu.edu/canvas/teachingonline/zoom/zoompedagogy.html
https://www.rev.com/blog/resources/zoom-online-teaching-how-to-use-zoom-to-teach
https://zoom.us/docs/doc/The%20Value%20of%20Video%20Communications%20in%20Education.pdf