Remote class sessions and meetings

In order to prepare for disruptions, we encourage you to have a plan for conducting classes and meetings online.

Set norms for communication and sharing of materials outside of class so that you are able to transition quickly and smoothly during a disruption. Communication may be through email, posts to the Moodle Announcements Forum, or another method.
Use Moodle as a place to share materials and collect assignments.
Review using Zoom for teaching. Instructional Technology staff are happy to join a practice meeting with you to help you refresh your remote teaching skills.

Tools

For remote meetings and class sessions, we suggest using Zoom. If you do not already have a Reed Zoom license, contact telecom-request@reed.edu to get a license that will allow you to host group meetings of any length. Students do not need licenses to participate.

Once you have your license, install Zoom on your Reed-owned machine via the "Self Service" app in your Applications folder. Questions about installs? Contact cus@reed.edu.

Helping things go smoothly

Establish norms for participation. We suggest that you:

Ask students to mute their microphones when they're not speaking for a better experience for everyone.
Encourage students to be mindful not to speak over one another; this can be a challenge during a remote discussion.
Determine etiquette for taking turns speaking. Students can raise their hands virtually in Zoom, and the chat feature can also be helpful for facilitating discussions.
Let students know whether you want questions via video or chat. You may want to designate one student to monitor chat so you do not have to watch the chat thread.
Consider using other tools for collaboration during class to allow students to participate in multiple ways.

Extra features

Captioning

Zoom provides real-time automated captioning. Captioning is helpful for many students, but it also may work better for some populations of speakers than others. Once you allow captioning, each student is able to choose for themselves whether to turn it on or off.

Split your class into small groups

Zoom has a breakout rooms feature that allows for easy transitions between full-group and small-group discussion. You can also join breakout rooms to check in with groups.

Screen sharing and whiteboarding

Use screen sharing in Zoom to present a PowerPoint or Google Slides lecture to a class remotely. If you have an iPad, you can also share that screen in Zoom. Annotating with an Apple Pen on the iPad may be a more efficient way to share handwritten work in Zoom. We suggest that you practice screen sharing before class, especially if you use dual monitors, plan to use the chat feature, or have not used Zoom for awhile.

Contact Instructional Technology Services with any questions or to set up a practice Zoom meeting in preparation for teaching remotely.