Leveraging Zoom Tools to Facilitate Engagement

How to Get Started

Step 1: Determine your goal(s).

What engagement challenges would you like to solve in Zoom? Technology should follow pedagogy…in other words, use tools because they serve a teaching purpose. Zoom’s tools are especially good for:

• Keeping students’ attention and keeping them on task.
• Gauging student learning and offering feedback in real time.
• Providing opportunities for students to learn from each other.
• Providing opportunities for students to participate in collaborative problem solving.

Additionally, a activitis using Zoom tools can help with building rapport and creating a supportive learning environment and can provide a break from hard mental work. Using Zoom’s interactive tools to help develop connections with and between students and form a community is a valid and important goal (See step 4 – Invest time in creating a supportive learning environment.)

Step 2: Identify tools you can use in Zoom for interaction and active participation.

Tool	Description
In-Meeting Chat and Reactions	Provide ways for participants to post questions, replies, emojis and comments to the chat box during the meeting and provide quick non-verbal feedback with a symbol or emoji. Learn more: In-Meeting Chat, Reactions and Screen Sharing (16 min lesson from Zoom Learning Center).
Zoom Polls	Ask your students question (a variety of types are available) during a meeting, and have the option of displaying a summary of responses. You can retrieve a report (spreadsheet) of responses after the meeting. You can make the poll a quiz by setting a correct answer for participants to see after they have responded. Learn more: Polling in Zoom Meetings and Webinars (10 min lesson from Zoom Learning Center)
Annotation on shared screen	Invite students to draw or type on any shared screen (a slide, web page, document, etc.) so that all other participants can see the annotations. Learn more: Sharing and Annotation (10 min lesson from Zoom Learning Center)
Zoom whiteboard	Participants can collaborate and capture ideas, processes and concepts on a persistent whiteboard which can be accessed after the meeting. Note: if you have students with low vision or who are blind, or if you have students for whom using a mouse poses a barrier, choose another tool for your course. Learn more: Welcome to Zoom Whiteboard (14 min lesson from Zoom Learning Center)
Breakout rooms	Create separate rooms within a meeting that groups of students can join for smaller group discussions or work. Learn more: Breakout Rooms in Zoom Meetings (13 min lesson from Zoom Learning Center)

Step 3: Update your Desktop Client regularly to get the latest functionality.

To update your Zoom desktop client, click on your user icon in the upper right corner, then click “Check for updates” in the menu options. Encourage your students to update their software as well.

Best Practices

1. Use Moodle for most content delivery.

Marie Norman (2017) suggests, “If it suits your topic and students’ developmental level, rather than using synchronous sessions for didactic purposes, have students bring challenging dilemmas or problems and get the group’s input and advice.” Deliver the majority of your content (i.e. recorded lectures, readings, slide presentations, etc.) in Moodle for students to study independently before class, and use live sessions to focus on those activities that can only be done synchronously (discussion, group work, supported problem-solving). This is similar to the concept of a flipped classroom.

2. Plan your activities ahead of time.

Incorporating polling, annotation, whiteboards and breakout rooms effectively requires planning prior to the session in order to go smoothly.

• Prime students for learning ahead of class. For example, Marie Norman (2017) suggests: “Send a quick email or a 1-3 question survey a day or two before class asking students about their experiences or opinions relevant to the session topic…Collecting information from students in advance will help you prepare appropriate questions and materials. It will also show students that you’re interested in what they have to say, which will help spur discussion in the synchronous environment.”
• Create polls prior to the meeting and plan when you’ll use them.
• For annotation activities: decide what slide, document, or other shared content you will ask students to annotate on, or whether you’ll use the whiteboard. Prepare documents as needed.
• Plan out any whiteboard activities, perhaps using a template that will support what you want students to do. See Digital Whiteboards for Teaching and Learning for ideas.
• For breakout rooms, see the Teaching Resources page on Using Breakout Rooms in Zoom for a details about preparations and considerations.

3. Minimize avoidable distractions.

Low light in videos, poor audio or background noise, the wrong Zoom window layouts, are all examples of more common distractions during a live Zoom session. Do what you can to avoid these in your meetings.

• Troubleshoot audio issues in Zoom
• Troubleshoot video issues in Zoom
• Spotlight participants’ videos to keep focus on a speaker

4. Create a supportive learning environment.

To help students feel comfortable engaging in active learning, do what you can to help them feel supported, respected, valued, and heard by others (peers and instructors). Building a community can take time and intention, but the potential payoff in student engagement (and thus learning) is real.

• Begin with low-stakes activities to get students comfortable.
• Provide opportunities for your students to introduce themselves to each other, either to the whole class or in breakout rooms
• Take some time before the session starts to chat with students, perhaps presenting a lighter slide with conversation spark.
• Communicate clearly what you’ll be doing online and how the session will help students succeed in the course and achieve the learning outcomes in order to make the session relevant and compelling for students.

Recognize, respecting, and incorporate flexibility when barriers may arise due to disability, Internet access, hardware, or environment. Consider not requiring students to have their videos on. Read: 5 reasons to let students keep their cameras off duing Zoom classes.

5. Communicate the value of engaging in Zoom sessions

• Offer something that students will not get through asynchronous materials in Moodle, but make connections to asynchronous materials.
• Spend some time going over assignments or large projects and answering questions during your Zoom sessions.
• If you require students to attend class (or view a recording) incorporate something that happened in the synchronous session into an assessment or assignment.

6. Ensure your Zoom meeting are accessible so all students can learn.

• When annotating items, verbally describe what is being annotated.
• If you have keyboard only users or screen reader users, limit whiteboard board use.
• When sharing your screen, describe what is on it, including slide numbers of a presentation.
• Share a link if presenting a web page or an accessible version of the file you are sharing.
• Learn more: Accessibility Features For Zoom Hosts (15 min lesson from Zoom Learning Center)

Examples and Ideas for using Zoom Tools

Tool	Suggested uses
Chat	Invite questions and comments (privately or publicly) on what you are presenting. Pose knowledge checks or “what do you think?” questions and collect answers in the chat. Encourage backchannel communication between learners. Read: “Using Backchannels in Face-to-Face Classes” and E. Gonzales (Oct 7, 2020). Managing the chat in online teaching: What we can learn from live streamers for more ideas.
Non-verbal feedback and Reactions	Say “Are you ready for me to move on? Give me a thumbs up/ green checks (yes), red x’s (no)” or “Give me a green check if this is true for you…” or “Click the ‘raise hand’ button if you have something to share.”
Polls and quizzes	To have fun and build community, survey students about a current event, sports, pets, food, etc. and share results. Find out what your students already know or what they think about a topic to inform how you proceed. Quiz students on material you just went over to be sure they “got it,” and identify areas you may need to review again. Use a poll to kick off a discussion. For example, Marie Norman (2017) suggests asking students to pick a side: “When students are asked to state an opinion, they become more invested in discussing it. So, consider asking a content-relevant either/or question, e.g., “What is more essential to professional success: being organized or being creative?” “Overall, do you think the impact of the Internet has been positive or negative?”
Annotation	Ask students to mark up a slide to get their feedback or opinions. Share a slide with images and/or text and ask students to stamp or circle content that resonates with them, that is correct vs incorrect, that they’d like more help on, etc.  Check the class temperature. Ask them to mark their feelings or thoughts along a continuum.
Whiteboard	Conduct a brainstorming session; divide the whiteboard or slide into sections if needed. Have students create a concept map. Work out problems in real time, or have students demonstrate how they worked out problems. Read: Digital Whiteboards for Teaching and Learning
Breakout Rooms	Visit the Teaching Resources Page on Using Breakout Rooms in Zoom to explore and find great examples in Indiana University’s “Zoom to the Next Level” ebook.

References

• M. Norman. (2017, June 26). Synchronous online classes: 10 tips for engaging students.
• Ziuban, C., Graham, C. R., Moskal, P. D., Norberg, A., & Sicilia, N. (2018). Blended learning: The new normal and emerging technologies: Revista de universidad y sociedad del conocimiento. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 15, 1-16.

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