by Marco Learning
If you are teaching online or planning to teach online any time soon, Zoom may be a good platform for you to consider. Zoom is in general a very easy-to-use online class space for both presenters and attendees. It’s free for basic access and can be a good solution for both teachers and students to collaborate online. Before you get started with Zoom, here are five tips to make sure you are prepared and ready to use the platform.
While you don’t need to do this to use Zoom (you can always log in and open Zoom in a web browser), you can download the Zoom app on your mobile phone or computer. The app is very handy for scheduling and joining virtual class spaces easily. When you schedule your class session, you can also add the Zoom class link to your Google or Outlook calendar easily and send out invites to attend.
2. Open the web windows or documents you need before you start your class.
Being prepared is always a good thing. Being prepared while teaching online is a must. Take the time before you start your class to have any websites up in a separate browser or any documents open that you want to share. This way you don’t have to spend any time opening anything in front of your students. You can also make sure that your students don’t accidentally see anything that you don’t want them to see while you are screensharing.
3. Take advantage of the screenshare and chat tools.
Screenshare is an especially useful feature of Zoom. You can show your students videos, websites, documents, PowerPoint slides, etc. You can also work on documents together in real time with this feature. This could be helpful if you are doing a brainstorm session or working on a group project. The other useful feature in Zoom is the chat. You can use this as an opportunity for your students to ask questions or communicate with each other. You can even message one individual or send something out the whole class.
4. Use the dial-in option.
One of the great things about Zoom is that you don’t need internet access to participate or listen in. You can use the free conference line option to dial in from your phone.
5. Record your classes and send out the recordings afterward.
Recording your class session is done with the click of a button in Zoom. The recordings will capture any screen-sharing or chat messages and will make it very easy for anyone to catch up on what was covered in an online session. You can also easily send out the recording via the link that will be emailed to you if you upload the recording to the cloud. The other option when recording is to upload the recording to your computer and then convert it to an MP3 for easy distribution.
Zoom is a very user-friendly and cost-effective option if you are looking for an online class space to host your class sessions.
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