Teaching online with Zoom
So many people are getting into teaching online and Digiteachonline.com are very happy about that. However, Zoom have had lots of changes that have come about recently on their platform with some excellent new features. So we are going to take you briefly through how you set yourself up to running classes on zoom and how you can actually use some of their new amazing features. Let’s go!
When you arrive on zoom or if you Google Zoom, it will take you to this website. Zoom is mostly known as an online conference software for running, online video conferences, meetings, webinars, etc. But actually if you’re teaching online or you want to know how to teach online or you’re already teaching and you want to take your teaching online, then Zoom is a very good, affordable way of starting your online teaching business for low cost.
However, if you don’t want to be bogged down with working out your own website and virtual classroom and booking system and payment system and resources and templates and all the other things that go along with successfully starting your own online teaching business, we do have a done for you online tutoring, website, which we’ve now made available in the Digi-teach online Academy here. This even includes our own private directory where you can list yourself as a tutor and start getting your own private students.
The first thing you need to do to use Zoom is to download the Zoom app. You can do that by going here.
Once you’ve created your account, which it’s quite an easy thing to do, so I’m not going to go through that now you need to move on to the net part.
The second thing you need to is go to the resources tab and download ‘Zoom client’. This is a really good app that allows you to easily customise settings from audio, to video and also green screen efffects and many more.
Now if you go to the really small gear icon which I think Zoom could have made bigger! You will find more settings. These are really useful for you when you are actually teaching.
You can use this setting tab to create presets which you can amend during the class as well. I think this option is only for the pro accounts and the pro accounts are from £11.99 a month.
What is the difference between the Pro and the free Zoom account?
The difference between the two is with a pro account, you can have longer sessions instead of it just being 40 minutes as in the Free Zoom account, with a pro account it is unended. There are lots of other features too and you can see the main differences here:
Zoom settings
From the Zoom client app you can manage all the following settings, audio, video, your virtual background, phone access. Things like where do you want your recordings to go to after the lesson and so much more.
Using a Green screen with Zoom
In the tutorial found here: I discuss how you can use a green screen in Zoom to get the right virtual background for your online classroom.
In this tutorial Digiteachonline.com demonstrates:
- How to use Zoom for FREE to create online classes.
- How to set up an account.
- How to add online classes.
- How to create a virtual background.
- How to use a green screen with just a green piece of fabric.
- How to use a waiting room.
- How to set up your audio.
- How to set up your video.
- How to screen share.
- How to use files from PDF’s power points and more in an online class.
- How to use the ‘in class’ tools.
- How to record your class and where to save it.
Please note that if you are recording classes with Zoom your privacy policies should inform your students of that. You should also request permission of this function before you use it from your students or their parents if they are minors to be compliant with GDPR regulations.
Don’t go and buy an expensive green screen. You can get one on amazon for next to nothing and as the tutorial shows, it does the job just as well as an expensive one. Just use anything GREEN, even green card would work on the wall.
Watch this Amazing Zoom Tutorial
What documents can you use in Zoom?
In Zoom you can screen share pretty much anything. Powerpoints, Internet pages, word docs, playlists. Anything at all. In the tutorial above, I show you how you can also share just part of your screen, all of it, just one document or a few at a time.
Zoom Waiting rooms – what are they?
Zoom waiting rooms allow you to place your students into a ‘virtual waiting room’ until you admit them. This is a feature in your settings on Zoom and you will have to choose to opt in, for it to be activated.
This feature is good as it allows you to check just one more time your audio and video etc are OK before class and it is also a possibly place to put distracting students, if they are choosing not to behave!
All in all, zoom is a good option for new tutors and teachers to online teaching and it also a means to help you navigate from offline to online teaching also. If you are using Zoom to teach online, let us know what you are teaching and what you think about teaching with Zoom.
