TeamOnline classes have become an integral part of teaching. Educators had to adapt to Zoom to make sure they could continue teaching during the pandemic. It became the major platform for online classes, group meetings, and online office hours.
Best Zoom Features For Educators
Educators have been using Zoom for almost a year and a half and have become pretty familiar with its functionality. But there are always updates and new tricks and tips to learn that can enhance their experience and productivity.
Zoom has features that are perfect for creating a teaching environment. Some of these features are as follows.
The Immersive View
The immersive view feature allows the hosts to select different backgrounds for participants. It will take place of the backgrounds used by students and instructors. It catches their shoulders and heads and puts them in an auditorium or a virtual conference table.
Open the meetings, choose the icon view present in the upper right corner, and select the background you want.
Keep Students Engaged With Breakout Rooms
Breakout rooms are an excellent feature offered by zoom. It is the perfect feature for ensuring students stay engaged and on topic. Small group discussions are a vital part of a class and breakout rooms make it possible even in virtual classrooms.
The instructor needs to move from room to room to check up on the students. You can also give different tasks to groups in the breakout rooms to keep them focused and busy. You can instruct them to finish the task during the breakout session and use interactive features of Zoom and other third-party apps.
Waiting Rooms
The waiting rooms make it easier for the instructors to manage all the students. They enter the classroom through the waiting room and they can only enter when the host of the meeting allows them. The instructor just needs to press the admit button to let the students enter the class.
You can communicate with people in the waiting room by sending messages. They can see the message but cannot respond. To know when the participants are entering or leaving the program you should toggle on the ‘leave sound’ and ‘play join’ from the tab of the participant. It helps instructors keep track of students.
The Focus Mode
Focus mode is designed to ensure students pay attention to the class. It prevents the students from seeing each other during the session. They cannot communicate with each other and can solely focus on their work.
The focus mode includes screen sharing that allows the instructor to view and switch between the screens of different participants. The learners only get to view their screens. They can see the instructor’s video and the learners that are spotlighted by the host.
It is best to use the focus mode when it applies to the situation and does not create any hindrance in communication.
The Video Options
Zoom offers two video options for an online class; gallery view and speaker view. Click on the toggle present at the top right and you can switch from one mode to the other.
When you start the class, the default mode is going to be the speaker view. It displays a large image of the person who is the speaker. In the gallery view, you can see all the attendees as they are displayed in the same size. Gallery view is a better option for a classroom as it makes it easier to monitor the attendees during the class.
The Mute Button
Background noise can disturb the whole classroom session. To avoid that you should make sure that everyone uses the mute button and only unmute when they have something to say. Students can mute themselves but the host has the power to mute all the attendees of the class. It ensures students and teachers do not have to deal with unwanted noise.
Raise Hands
To create the environment of a real classroom, Zoom offers students the feature of digitally raising their hands. The option is available in the participant’s panel. The feature is effective in getting the attention of the teacher in case you have a question. It is an excellent feature for large sections. When you have answered the questions of the students you can lower the hand.
Conclusion
Zoom made it possible for educators to manage their classes and students while teaching online. It made it possible to create the feel of a real classroom even when all the participants are present at a remote location The features of zoom help educators teach and facilitate students to ensure they learn.
