Raise HandZoom offers a way for learners to digitally raise their hands. Learners can click the ‘Participants’ button (same location as your Manage Participants) to expand the participants’ panel. At the bottom of this panel, there’s a button called “Raise Hand”. Learners can use that button to get your attention while muted. To lower their hand, hover over their video feed in gallery mode.
Want even more ways to interact with your learners? Check out these
reaction icons and
participant controls learners can use during class time.
Disable name-changingSome learners like to be silly in class, and that’s something we encourage (when appropriate) here at KS! However, we strongly recommend that you
use this setting to prevent learners from changing their Zoom names for
safety and privacy purposes.
On the other hand, a learner may enter class with a name that is not their own if they are using a parent’s or sibling’s device. If this is the case, verify the learner’s name, and change it when making introductions with the group.
To stop learners from changing their names during class, you will need to go to your
Zoom web portal before class. This change occurs outside of the Zoom screen on the app, so once you’ve made the change, you do not have to change it again. Use the following steps to get started:
Step 1: Click on Account Management then Account Settings.
Step 2: Next, click on the Meetings tab.
Step 3: Check to see that the toggle for “Allow participants to rename themselves” is turned to “off.” If not, you can click the toggle to change the setting.
Step 4: Finally, click the lock icon to make this setting mandatory for all learners.
Learn more about how to make your class run smoothly by
managing participants ahead of time and
in-meeting controls.
Chat featureYou can use the chat box, accessed from the bottom of the screen, to send messages to learners during class. Learners can also send messages to the class, which can sometimes get distracting if they are spending more time chatting with others instead of engaging in class discussions.
As the host, you
control how the learners use the chat feature by selecting who they can chat with from the “More” dropdown menu. By default, group chat is enabled. You can choose to limit learners to only chat with you, the host. To disable chat completely, you should choose the “No one” option. There is not a 1-on-1 learner messaging option, so you don’t have to worry about learners privately messaging each other while you’re trying to teach.
If you’ve never used this function before, consider testing it out before class begins. You can also read up on the following resources to better understand how the chat features work:
While you’re at it, be sure to join one of our
community Facebook groups to grow your network, ask questions, and get advice from fellow educator entrepreneurs.
Screen sharingPerhaps Zoom’s most useful teaching feature, screen share lets learners see what is on your computer screen. This could include a visual presentation, a website, a video, or anything else on your computer that you’re using to supplement your teaching. Zoom also includes a built-in whiteboard as a screen share option, which can be very helpful for many classes.
To share your screen, click “Share Screen” at the bottom of your Zoom window, then select the option that you wish to share. It will appear as images of what tabs are open on your screen.
Remember to check the
use computer sound checkbox on the bottom left of the screen share window if you wish to share a video with learners. otherwise, the audio will register as background noise on your side and will not be sent into the video classroom.
As a best practice, ask your learners to give you a thumbs up or some indication that they can see your screen. If you chose the wrong screen or it is taking a minute to load for a learner with a slower internet connection, you will want to know before jumping into your lesson.
For more information about screen sharing, check out the following resources: