ZOOM app for video conferencing
The district has a subscription to Zoom for all teachers with features such as, Alternative Host, Co-Host and Polling features.
Get the latest update!
Be sure to update Zoom regularly! Zoom is constantly updating and adding new features. Some of the features that were added this year are: > Co-Hosts have same control over Breakout Rooms as Hosts. > Admit waiting room participants while in a Breakout Room. > Enhancement to Alternative Host feature If the original host joins after the Alternative Host, the original host will always regain control of the meeting and become host. In addition, the Alternative Host will change roles. If the co-host feature is enabled for the meeting, the Alternative Host will become a co-host. If the co-host feature is disabled, the Alternative Host becomes a normal participant. > Blurred background Users can now choose to blur their background rather than selecting a specific virtual background, providing added privacy when a branded background is unavailable or unnecessary. > Share and play video files directly into meeting > Do Not Disturb when screen sharing |
SAFETY & SECURITY
Zoom has many safety & security features that teachers should be utilizing during their meetings with students, including requiring participants to enter a password or embedding passwords into meeting links, locking meetings once all students have joined, enabling waiting rooms by default and more. Please click here to review these IMPORTANT features and updates. Reminder! Students should login to Zoom with their own school-issued Google account. They should not be logging in with their parent's, sibling's, etc., accounts. This is for safety and security purposes. |
Zoom has a ton of teaching & student management features, such as sharing your screen with a built-in whiteboard where you can draw & write in real-time while you are on the video call, customize a waiting room, control mute setting and more. Here are resources to learn more.
Tap here > Great Tips for Teaching with Zoom, Includes information & tips on:
Zoom Tips for Families SB created HOW-To Sheet ZOOM Settings Cheat Sheet ZOOM Tips for Educators PDF Directions for Students Cheat Sheet for Parents Parents Guide to Zoom ZOOM Help Center ZOOM Video Tutorial Center.. 1 minute intro videos Directions for K/1 Students - how to join a Zoo |
QUICK LINKS:
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**ZOOM has a Side by Side Mode so you can see your students while you are presenting. Learn more here.
You can also consider using two computers, or a computer and an iPad, so you can see your students on one screen and the content that you are presenting on the other. Go here to learn how to mirror an iPad while you are on a Zoom meeting.
brain break Ideas & resources
Play “I Spy”
If you really want your students to focus on everyone in the classroom, play a game of “I Spy”. You can do this either with or without virtual backgrounds, but in essence you are describing things that you notice about the student, or in the background of someone’s zoom call. Students then quickly have to search all the attendees and see which student is being described. A fun, 5-minute way to get students hooked into their next Zoom meeting.
Scavenger Hunts
Probably one of the most popular games to play with students is a virtual scavenger hunt. The premise is simple, you have a list of items and then ask students to run through their house or apartment attempting to find the items and show them on the screen. A quick word of advice on this is to be sure you are not picking exact objects for them to find like “a toy cell phone”. Rather, create a category that could involve all sorts of different objects that qualify like “an object with numbers on it.” This will reveal a lot of different interpretations of the clue as well as not limiting what students can find around them.
Quiz Game
Use the “Raise hand” button and create an impromptu survey as long as it involves brief responses. Kahoot, Nearpod, Quizziz, or and Peardeck are great to gather feedback via a second screen or browser tab. Playing a game like “would you rather” would work well to test this out before using it more in-depth in later lessons. Check out the latest “Challenge” feature within Kahoot to create more of a self-paced challenge for your students that might have limited access to technology or can’t participate synchronously.
Brainstorm
Gathering feedback in polls is one way to interact with students, but you could also use a shared collaborative space like a Padlet or Google Jamboard to have students discuss and brainstorm ideas on shared spaces. A tip here is to create the “walls” or spaces for the students to collaborate on prior to the lesson, so that you have a live link to what they are working on. Pair this activity with creating Zoom Breakout Rooms to have students collaborate in smaller groups!
Want more ideas for engaging your students virtually? Go here!