Go BEYOND ZOOM BASICS with OK Zoomer!!

You have used Zoom but want to GO BEYOND THE BASICS.

Doug Shaw and I have been leading educators beyond the basics of Zoom for the past 18 months. It has been a wonderful journey working with motivated educators.

I have asked the OK Zoomer, Doug Shaw, to share our journey:
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It seems like an eternity ago, but it has been less than two years since we teachers experienced a global pandemic and associated quarantine. Take a moment to reflect on that – less than two years. 

Fortunately, plenty of basic “how to zoom” resources appeared. Blog posts, videos, and even workshops. And then more basic “how to zoom” resources. And even more. All covering the same things.

In the meantime, in the professional facilitation world, people were creating new techniques to use in business contexts. I remember being part of that process – it was so exciting. I’d be on for two hours in the afternoon (for one part of the world) and then two hours after midnight (for another part of the world) – sharing ideas, talking, but mostly playing around. We took ordinary features of zoom and tried to break them – or at least use them in ways that they weren’t intended. And we facilitators from all over the world came up with exciting, wonderful techniques, but nobody was telling the teachers . . .

Dr. Doug Shaw

And thus OK Zoomer came to be . . .

This is an exciting, fun, but most importantly intermediate workshop aimed specifically at teachers who were now remote teachers. Word of mouth was amazing, and after the first 100 participants came the first thousand, then the second thousand, and it kept growing. The United States became the US and Canada, and soon Dr. Z and I had officially taught over 3000 teachers from over 20 countries.

People love this workshop. We have dozens and dozens of testimonials, but I think I want to share this one, that I don’t even think Dr. Z has seen, and it really encapsulates a lot:

"I loved the extreme density of useful information in this presentation. So many of these pedagogy webinars (and I've been to quite a few at this point, some by very expensive and famous people) end up padding out 2-3 minutes of semi-useful insight with 60-90 minutes worth of time-wasting filler and restatement. 

By contrast, every single minute in this workshop felt well-used and packed with genuinely new ideas. That has literally never happened to me before in any professional-development training and, gotta be honest, it was pretty refreshing to the soul. I also appreciated the psychological insight underlying a lot of the techniques we learned: rather than just focusing on cool tech tricks, this presentation felt as though it proceeded from a genuine understanding of how learners relate emotionally and cognitively to the Zoom experience. … 

 I appreciated the opportunity to see how an experienced, charismatic performer would handle a lot of the techniques we discussed in the session. Finally, I appreciated that this session also achieved what it proposed to teach: it delivered an "engaging and lively Zoom experience" where I felt genuinely "seen" as a participant and felt myself forming active connections to the other learners present. Having had that experience is going to make it a lot easier to understand my students' perspectives as I work to build the same kind of rapport in my own classes this fall."

Speaking of Dr. Z . . .

the Q and A portion of the OK Zoomer experience is not to be missed! As a reader of this blog, you are probably impressed at not just the depth of his insight, but also its breadth. During the Q and A, the entire contents of his creative and knowledgeable mind are open to the participants, and I’ve never seen him leave a session without answering every question people have, often sharing information for further brainstorming.

If you would like to know more, please email me at doug.shaw@gmail.com!

The ENTER key is LAVA!: a Massively Multiplayer Participation Technique

Enter Key is Lava

Dr. Doug Shaw Shares:

Hello. Don’t you hate it when you look up a recipe online and you have to wade through paragraphs of introductory text about someone’s grandmother before you get to the ingredient list? I’m going to share an amazing technique with you, and then if you like, you can stick around and read why it is so awesome.

Technique name: The ENTER key is LAVA

Use:
This technique enables students in an online synchronous class to share their opinions on a prompt or their answers to a question and to then engage with each other’s thoughts.

Time:  About 8 minutes, but this will vary.

Details:

Step one: Tell the students, “I’m going to ask you a question. Please type your answer in the chat window, but do NOT hit ENTER! The ENTER key is LAVA! Just type your answer in the window.”

Step two: Ask your question. Type your question in the chat room as well in case they didn't hear it. Follow by typing, “You have [x] minutes. Remember: The ENTER key is LAVA!” I’ve found that two minutes usually works for me and my students, but it really depends on your topic and your class.

Step three: While the students are working, I like to play some low-volume music in through zoom. You can do this by clicking “share screen”, the “advanced” tab, then select the box at the bottom of the window that says “share computer audio.” Now cue music on your favorite music player. (I’ll tell you why at the end)

Step four: After the time has elapsed, stop the music, and say, “Okay, we hit ENTER on three! One! Two! Three! PUNCH IT!” Observe the huge stream of comments.

Step five: Explain to the students that their next task is to read all the comments, find one that resonates with them, and type a response in the chat window. But DON'T HIT ENTER. As they do this, cue music and type the instructions in the chat: “You have [y] minutes. Read, respond, and the ENTER key is LAVA again!” The amount of time you give them will depend on how many people are in the class.

Steps six and seven: Again, stop the music, “One! Two! Three!” and their final task is to take [z] minutes to read these new comments.

Rationale:

Equity: The problem with the Zoom Chat window is that it is modeled after our familiar texting apps. This means that the place where you type is right below the place where you read responses. For thoughtful students, this means that they see other students have “finished” with a question before they’ve had a chance to really think it through. And for easily distracted students (and Zoom has made many people, including me, easily distracted) it becomes difficult to focus on their own answer as they see others’ answers cascading in their field of vision. Both of these issues are even worse for neurodiverse students. “The ENTER key is LAVA” technique removes those problems. Every student gets the same [x] minutes to write, the same [y] minutes to read and respond, and the same [z] minutes to read.

Encouraging contributions: By designating time for students to read as well as write, “The ENTER key is LAVA” technique demonstrates that both activities are equally important. This message is also reinforced by the music cues – they get music when they are writing, reading, and responding, implicitly signaling that these three actions are all part of the same process. If we want our students to consistently contribute in classes, it is important to make it obvious that their participation is valued.

Generality: Because this technique works for a variety of types of prompts, after students go through it once, you will be able to use it effortlessly throughout the semester. It will go from a novelty to “this is how our class works.” You will be able to get large amounts of participation and engagement with little work. You will even be able to use it spontaneously, based on what is happening in your class at the moment!

Credits: 
This technique was adapted from a workshop by Aneta Key from the Applied Improvisation Network.

Dr. Doug Shaw is a Guest Blogger. He is a Math Professor at the University of Northern Iowa. He originated the OK Zoomer online workshops in August 2020.

Learn Faster by Watching Faster

 

Videos can be informative but they can take a great deal of time as well. Interestingly enough, you can speed up videos and still understand them. This 1:44 video shows you how to increase the watching speed of YouTube videos. (Try watching it in less than 1:44 😉 )

I watch most informative videos at 1.5x or faster. Obviously, this distorts some of the cinematic aspects of the video but I am interested in the information, not the cinematography.

Z

Wondering how this can affect your understanding, visit my How Does Watching/Listening Faster Affect Learning? post.

Why Students Turn Off their Cameras in Online Classes

 I HATE it when my students turn off their cameras in class!

I didn't select teaching as my role in life to talk to a bunch of boxes on the screen.  I want to talk to my students and see their responses as we venture into new ideas and experiences.

Unfortunately, when we had to move our classes online, educators met with a number of students who didn't turn on their cameras. I have spent the past year presenting OK Zoomer webinars for Higher-Ed and K-12 teachers.  The #1 question they have is "How can I get my students to turn on their cameras?"

Good question.  There are a plethora of solutions. Some answer that question by mandating students to keep their cameras active. This may be unfair because it is an invasion of their privacy.  Other educators build empathy with their students by sharing important it is for them to have the opportunity to have eye contact with their students.  Some instructors give extra credit points to students who show themselves.  

I have been interested in learning about why students turn off their cameras.  This Spring semester, I taught 100 students in three sections through Zoom. At the end of the semester, I asked them to share their reasons for turning off their cameras. I presented them with a list of 14 options and then provided a place where they could provide other reasons. They could select as many reasons as they wanted.

Reasons Why Students Turn Off Their Cameras*

The results were quite interesting.  Out of my 100 students, 69 of them answered the survey. Here are the results of this survey (n=69): 

Survey Results: Why Students Turn Off their Cameras

I have broken these results into 6 groups: Self-Conscious, Technical, Considering Others, Status Quo, Other Activity, and Privacy:

Self-Conscious: Two of the top 3 reasons given indicated that the students are Self-conscious. They didn't want others to see them and they didn't like seeing themselves. They were concerned about being judged. 

Other Activity: They wanted to engage in an activity other than class. Thirty-nine percent of them turned them off because they were eating. That was considerate (especially in my 8:00 class). You will note that the last two reasons involved them getting involved in something else. 

Technical: Technology tends to fail. Almost 1/3 of them had internet problems. Some had webcam problems. The interesting part of this is that I had students contact me apologizing about how they couldn't use their cameras because of technical problems. 

Consider Others: Surprisingly, about 1/5 of the students turned them off because they were concerned that they would distract their classmates or their professor.  The funny thing is that I enjoyed seeing my students and turning them off distracted me.

Status Quo: Everyone else had turned theirs off, so why shouldn't I?  Why did they feel that it should be the status quo?  Did the teacher say it was OK?  Was the class delivered at one-way communication so it didn't seem like they needed to be part of the discussion?  Did the students get together and decide to keep their cameras off?  Don't know.

Privacy: Should students be required to share their surroundings? One-quarter of them didn't want to show other people and 1/5 didn't want to show their surroundings.  These are significant concerns that could be considered.

How Can We Use These Results?

A preliminary analysis indicates that the most popular reasons that our students turn off their cameras have to do with them being Self-Conscious. While it is understandable that students are concerned about how they look and what others think about them, we need to make their learning environment safe and inviting to reduce their anxiety.

The Other Activity reasons were interesting. It is fully understandable for students to turn off their cameras when they are eating. Finding the "not paying attention" reason at the bottom of the pile was a surprise. While that reason is high on my list when I turn off my camera, it wasn't the case with these students. These ratings may indicate that they were learning in an interactive environment. 

Technical problems are everywhere. They have little to do with attitude and everything to do with happenstance. While some situations are unavoidable (e.g., poor web access in the rural areas), other reasons may just be computer problems that can be corrected. (I wrote another posting about Strategies to Optimize Your Zoom Bandwidth earlier.)

Considering Others' distractions is unique. This may indicate an empathy that has developed in a positive community. 

The Status Quo has to do with expectations. The teacher must share their vision for the learning environment with students so they will know how to perform. There is great debate about whether an educator can REQUIRE students to turn on their cameras. Looking into students' homes may be an invasion of privacy. Some teachers encourage their students to share their cameras by: having theme or color days where they dress accordingly; encouraging students to create virtual backgrounds to support the course content; or having interactive discussions that encourage face-to-face interaction. 

Privacy was a big concern when students were forced into online learning. We must pay attention to situations where students don't want to share their home life or companions. It leads us to the problem with requiring students to show their faces. Educators would be more effective if they worked with the student to remedy the situation (e.g., broadcast from the library) than forcing embarassment.

This is Only the Beginning

I am sharing these results with you because it is one of the most often asked questions on educators' minds. I will be analyzing this deeper and submitting it to a refereed journal. Please leave your comments about the research design, my comments, or how these relate to your experiences.

I NEED Your Help Higher Education Educators!!

I am interested in expanding this research to explore students' reactions in other classes.   I am looking for 10 higher education educators who would like to join me.  It may be as simple as having your students complete the survey or we can discuss how this would best address your needs.

Please contact me at Dr. Z with your subject and teaching situation. Put Camera Research in the subject line. 

Have a Great Week!

Z

* This article was edited on 9/16/21 to add the Privacy category.  This was suggested by some readers and it was a valid suggestion.  The numbers were not changed, only the category.

How to Update Your Zoom Client Version

I have had many educators and students ask how to update their Zoom client version so that they can use some of the more recent functions like moving between Breakout Rooms. 

This video is for you:

BTW: If your updating fails, you will see "Automatic Update is disabled for Zoom. Ask your IT administrator for Help."  You can contact your IT person or you can try reinstalling Zoom to your computer.  

Dr. Z Loses Power in Zoom Class

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Even though I have made a reputation for teaching other educators how to use Zoom; regardless of the fact that I have been teaching synchronous online classes from my basement for the past 11 months; In spite of the fact that I have been teaching online for over 2 decades; I want you to know that sometimes things go wrong in online classes for me too.

Today, I was just beginning to teach my Ed Tech and Design course through Zoom. I had EVERYTHING prepared. My screen was shared so we could review our schedule and the requirements for the upcoming assignment. I had already spoken with each of my 36 students by asking them the question of the day. Each of my students had already renamed themselves by putting their group numbers at the beginning of their names to make it easier to break them up for their group work later.

Suddenly, my MacBook Air's screen WENT BLANK . . .

My lifeless computer stared back at me as I tried to make sense of the situation. My students were gone and my computer wasn't working. I was cut off from my class. I hadn't checked to ensure that my laptop was charged and it died. My students were left leaderless in my Zoom classroom.

I immediately phoned my Graduate Assistant, Lindsey. She answered quickly My computer connection was cut so I needed to reconnect another way. Lindsey affirmed that they had noticed that I had disappeared. I had not yet made her co-host so hosting had been passed to a student . . . How embarrassing! When Lindsey discovered the host, they asked the new "chief of the class" to make them host.

My computer was busy recharging so I hung up from Lindsey, and signed into Zoom with my phone. This allowed me to address the class to start them with their class activities. The next activity was Breakout Room group work. Lindsey placed them all in groups and sent them on their way to collaboration.

My computer soon regained consciousness. I was able to sign back into Zoom to regain control of my class. Things went well after that.

This was embarrassing, but it was a learning experience as well.

Here are some of my Lessons Learned:

1. Remember to have your laptop plugged in before you begin class.
2. Have your laptop charged before class.
3. Add this plugged in/charged reminder to your checklist. (You may remember that last week I posted my checklist in prep for a Zoom class. You will notice that I have since added this to the list - near the top.)
4. ALWAYS assign your assistant as Co-Host before class.

John Dewey once said:

"Failure is Instructive.

The person who REALLY THINKS, learns quite as much from their failures as from their successes."

Hopefully, I will REALLY THINK and learn from this in the future.

What about you? Have you ever had this happen to you?

My Educator's Checklist for Successful Zoom Sessions

I have had a number of educators ask me how I prepare for teaching through Zoom.  

Aside from outlining my class session, I have a number of items that I want to remember to ensure a successful class.  Remember that these are what I like to use.  I would be fascinated to hear about the items on your checklist as you move into a Zoom session.

Checklists are incredibly important for presenting an effective session.  Most of us have them in our heads, but it wasn't until I created a written version and hung it on my wall that the checklist really improved the quality of my sessions. This is what I use:

Before Your Zoom Session:

• Restart Computer (?) - Since most of us are teaching on laptops, it's easy to keep your computer on ALL THE TIME.  Sure, you might put it in Sleep mode every night, but as we work various programs and tabs and ???, it is easy to fill your computer's memory with useless RAM-ivorous memory gobblers. These gobblers can get in the way of your computer running efficiently so it is best to rid your system of them at least once a week. You don't have to restart before each class but reboot your computer at least once a week.
• Laptop is Plugged-in or Fully Charged - Your computer can die on you in the middle of class. This can lead to your students disappearing from your screen and you disappearing from their Zoom class. This may sound obvious, but I began a class running on my MacBook's battery and it died in the middle of class. I returned in a timely fashion but it was embarassing and interfered with their learning.
• Close the Door - I am an active teacher who believes that laughing and interacting with my students is an essential part of a good learning situation. This means that I need to close the door so as not to interfere with other people in my house.
• Fill my Water Glass - You need to be comfortable when you teach so identify the "creature comfort necessities" that you need and ensure that you have them all at hand.
• Pad of Paper and Pen - I use Notes and Google Keep for notes, but I still seem to need to have a pad of paper for quick notes. Using a couple of notebooks which are each divided into 5 parts, I can organize my notes by topic.  It's always good to have a couple of pens available.
• Check the Mic and Camera - I use the camera on my laptop, but I always try to clean the lens using an eyeglass cleaning cloth before class.  I have an external mic so I check the USB connection and test the quality of my recording.  If you are running multiple cameras, plug them all into your computer.
• Check for Host/Cohost - Usually, when you begin your Zoom session, you are the host by default. Don't Assume ANYTHING! Today, 10 minutes into class, I found that I wasn't hosting.  NO ONE was host. I don't remember how, but I had to sign-in again to claim Hostdom.
• Add your Assistant as Cohost - My Graduate Assistant, Lindsey, is a valuable support person. Your support people should be your cohost.  ALERT: If your assistant is going to organize your breakout rooms, they MUST be made the HOST and you take on the role of CO-HOST.
• Label the Breakout Rooms - It is easier if you already have the breakout rooms labeled if you are going to be manually putting students in breakout rooms or you will allow them to enter their own.
• Turn Off Breakout Rooms Timer - Zoom's capability to time a breakout room meeting is useful. Unfortunately, it has caused some of my Breakouts to end prematurely. I have had 15-minute meetings end in 8 minutes because the timer had been set to 8 minutes and I hadn't changed it.  The WORSE PART of this is that there is no way to change the time setting once the meeting has started. PLEASE FIX THIS ZOOM. Until then, I try to just turn off the timer.
• Test Sharing Your Screen - Test your processes like Sharing Screens before class. It is too easy for this to be a problem and roadblock in the class.
• Test your Presentation - If you are using a slide show to supplement/guide your class, you MUST test this before class begins.  Thoughtfully go through your presentation as a presentation to ensure that all of the videos work and the animation provides the effect that you planned.
• Preload Links into Tabs - Linking to other websites is an important function of my slides.  Often it takes a long time to load.  This causes an unwanted delay. Preloading these sites to various Chrome tabs is a good way to reduce potential delays.

In Session:

• Start Recording - I usually ask a student or my Graduate Assistant to help me remember to record each class session, but there are times when that doesn't work either.  Keep it on your checklist.

After Session:

• Save your Chat - Chats hold important information.  It is possible to set your settings so that your class's chats are saved automatically, but ALWAYS save your chats.
• Convert your Recording - You have to quit Zoom to convert your class session recording, but it is best if you do this immediately after your class. I don't know what the formula is to compute how long it will take to convert your recording, but my hour-long sessions usually take about 15 minutes to convert.  
• Save your Converted Recording to Google Drive - I save my recordings to my computer and then copy them to Google Drive so that students can access them. Last week, I realized that I can tell Zoom where to save the converted file.  Turns out that I can direct it specifically to my Google Drive. This saves a lot of time because I don't have to do it separately after it is save on my computer harddrive.
• Include a Link from my LMS folder to a Recording - Making a recording of your class sessions is not useful unless you have a link for your students to follow it.  I have a specific place in my LMS system where my students can go to find the link.     

9 Strategies to Optimize your Zoom Bandwidth

ARRRRRGH!  

My Zoom is SO SLOW!

Ever heard that?  Ever felt that? Watching your zoom session freeze up or listening to your students' garbled talk because your throughput is too slow is frustrating. 

It's NOT a Zoom problem. It's your Throughput.

Throughput is a combination of bandwidth and computer speed. Bandwidth may be out of your control. But there are strategies that you can take to optimize how fast your system runs once the signal enters your home.

Whether the bandwidth slowdown is on your computer or on your students' computers, here are nine strategies to speed up your throughput:

Turn Off Your Camera - This is the easiest step of all. Streaming video is 10 times the data load of streaming voice (Abbott, T, 2020) It has been suggested that muting yourself will even save few bits as well.  This option is the one that is most disliked by teachers because we want to interact with our students - but sometimes the elements require it.

Close EVERYTHING Else - Run Zoom by itself. Having other programs open while running Zoom will steal your computer's processing power and slow down your Zoom experience.

Reboot Your Computer - This may sound drastic, but it is the only way that you can ensure that you don't have any other programs running. Actually, it is a good idea to reboot your computer at least once a week to refresh your system.

Delete Programs You Never Use - You must keep 15-20% of your hard drive empty. Your computer uses your hard drive to create temporary files and swap them as it works. If there isn't enough empty space, the process becomes a little more complicated and can slow down your Zoom session. 

Move Closer to your Router - Wifi is a fickle pickle. When your computer is near your router, the signal is stronger.  As you move away, the signal becomes weaker and your bandwidth is slower. Moving closer to your router doesn't have to mean that you have to move to the basement. You can sit in a room directly above your router and the wifi will travel through the floor.

Check for Viruses - Viruses are designed to cause trouble for your computer. A strong indicator that you might have a virus of seeing your computer slow down. Infection can usually be prevented by using antivirus software to filter what enters your computer.  You can use these programs to remove invaders or you can take your computer to the repair shop.

Is Your Software Version Up-to-Date? - Improving technology is an ongoing process. Zoom released an average of about 10 minor version updates each month for the last half of 2020. Not all of them were significant changes, but it becomes increasingly important to stay current.

You can check how current your Zoom version is by clicking on your profile (upper-right corner of your opening page). A menu will appear (see image) and the Check for Updates option is the ninth one down. Zoom usually checks for updates when it opens, and often it installs the updates for you. If your Zoom doesn't seem to be doing this, check with your IT department.

Your operating system is important too. Microsoft releases major updates for Windows twice a year with minor updates every month (on Patch Tuesday). Apple releases a major update once a year in October and then minor updates every few months.  Keep your system updated.

Is Your Computer Ancient? - You should expect to replace your computer every 3 - 4 years. The hardware may still function, but technology is developing rapidly and your computer may not have what it needs to run Zoom.  

Is Your Router Sufficient? - Routers are advancing just a quickly as all other technologies. If your connection is slow, it might mean that you are in the market for a new router. Talk with your Internet service about this. You can get a new router sufficient for your home for under $100. 

I hope that you have found this helpful. Please tell me which strategies work for you. 

Let's Connect with Our Students!

P.S. Of course, I have found more strategies. Instead of having to keep updating the number in the title, I will just add these ideas down here along with who shared them.

10. Keep your virtual desktop clear.  Similar to keeping your drive clear, having a load of icons scattered around your desktop provides more load on your processor to deal with them.  (Thanks, Jeffrey Zeitz)

Using Zoom on a Phone or Tablet

Using Zoom on a laptop computer can be easy.  If you are attending a class, you just need to enter the class and engage in what your teacher has planned for you. 

But what if you have to use your phone or tablet?  How can you do all of the operations that are required in an engaging class?   Is it possible to TEACH through Zoom on a phone or tablet?

The answer is FOR THE MOST PART - YES!!!  Most of the commands that you can do on a computer can be achieved on your mobile device.

Here is a list Mobile Zoom commands. (Warning, this was tested on an iPhone.  Android and iPhone apps are virtually the same, but if you find that this doesn't work on your Android, please leave a comment or contact me at @zeitz)

These commands are presented in the order that we are presenting these actions in our OK Zoomer: Beyond the Basics workshop.  It is a workshop that has been enjoyed by over 2200 faculty members so you should check it out.

Mute and Unmute Yourself

1. Tap the icon in lower-left corner.

How to Enter Chat

1. Tap … in the lower-right corner.

2. Tap Chat in the menu.

Hide Non-Video Participants

1. Tap … in the lower-right corner.

2. Tap Meeting Settings in the menu.

3. Deselect the slide bar for Show Non-Video Participants.

Share Screen> Advanced>Music Or Computer Sound Only

1. Tap Share Screen in the menu.
2. Tap Screen.
3. Tap Start Broadcast.
4. Tap the screen.
5. Share Device Audio: should be On.
6. Move to your music application.

Rename Yourself

1. Tap on Participants
2. Tap on your name.
3. Tap on Rename.

Opening Green Screens

1. Tap the … in the lower right corner.

2. Tap Virtual Background

3. Tap the desired background

Adding Green Screens

1. Tap the + button in the lower-right corner.

2. You might see a screen asking you to give Zoom access to your photos,  

1. Tap the Change Settings button

2. Tap Photos

3. Tap All Photos or Selected Photos

4. You will have to rejoin Zoom

3. Tap the + button again in the lower right corner.

4. Select the photo you want to use as a background.

5. It should appear on your background and be added to your collection.

I hope that you find this useful. I will be updating these commands as time progresses.

Z

Taking Attendance using Zoom Reports

Welcome to the World of Online Learning!!!

We have SO MANY opportunities in our online classes, but there are still administrative duties that we have to complete.  One of those seemingly trivial but important tasks is Taking Attendance.  How can we do that?

In our regular, face-to-face class, we can create a seating chart and then just check off the empty desks on the chart.  Unfortunately, in Zoom (and other online networks) seating charts aren't available.  Therefore we must find some other ways to take attendance.  

I have tried a number of interesting strategies for taking attendance.  We have used QR codes that lead to Google Forms.  We have had students type "Here" in the Chat Room and saved the Chat Room for later review.  Sometimes we have taken screen captures of the students in who are in class for later reference. We have even tried having all of the students wait in the waiting room and checking off the attendance sheet before admitting them.

HOLD ON!!! I have found the SUPERIOR method for taking attendance!! 
Use the Zoom Reports feature!!

While this may seem like an obvious answer to the task, not too many people know about the extensive Zoom Reports that are available.  They tell you WHO attended, WHEN they joined, WHEN they left AND the content can be exported to a spreadsheet.

Instructions on How to Take Attendance during a Zoom Class

Access the Settings on Your Zoom Web Portal. 

• Access this through the zoom.us website address used by your school, or you can access it from your profile on your Zoom Client App. 
• Select Settings and then View More Settings.
• If you don't see the left-hand column when you access More Settings, widen your window to full screen. Zoom doesn't show the left column is the window where it is displaying is too narrow. 

Select Reports in the left column. (If you don't see the left-hand column, widen your window to full screen. Zoom doesn't show the left column if the displaying window is too narrow.)

Click Usage and it will open a list of reports generated for meetings between specific dates.  

• Select the dates to find the report you want.

Click on the Number of Participants for your desired meeting to view the class list. It should be blue.

Attendance List: You will find a list of all of those who attended.  It will tell you when they started, when they ended, and how many minutes they were there.  This can be exported to a spreadsheet in .CSV format if you want to alphabetize the names or store them for later reference.

There you have it.  Have you tried this before?  If not, give it a shot and tell us how it worked.

How have YOU been taking attendance with your online classes?

Z

ATTENTION:  I just learned that the Canvas LMS team learned about this option and they have built it into their attendance system.  I don't know anything more than that, but look into it.  Blackboard hasn't shown the foresight to incorporate it into their system.    2/15/21

Dr. Z's Guide to Teaching Using Zoom Breakout Rooms

 

One of the most important but often most daunting tools is the Zoom Breakout Room.  

The concept of Zoom Breakout Rooms is not difficult.  They can be the same as small group discussion in a physical classroom setting. 

The trick is which option to use for setting them up and then understanding the tips and tricks for running them smoothly.

This guide provides an easy-to-understand description of Zoom Breakout Rooms basics.  It has been updated to include the new 3rd option where students can select rooms on their own.

This will be followed up with a booklet on the pedagogical uses of Zoom Breakout Rooms to suggest a plethora of learning opportunities that can be provided using them. 

NOTE: This guide is a little out-of-date, but the updated version is coming soon. 

Click Here to Open the Guide.

Dr. Z's 20 Zoom Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac and Windows

Click Here to Access the Whole Zoom Keyboard Shortcuts

ZOOM IS AWESOME!!

Right?  It enables you to connect with colleagues, family, students, teachers, customers, and everyone else.  You can attend online classes through Zoom. You can participate in virtual conferences and conventions.  You can even attend church with your friends and family (or anywhere in the world.)

As exciting as Zoom may be, it can be overwhelming.  There are SOOOO many buttons to click and menus to use.  Unmute me. Stop my video. Raise my hand. Share my screen. Jump to the next screen of participants. It can be TOO MUCH!!! It would be much easier if we just knew the Magic Keys to press to make things happen.           

At least that is what I was thinking . . .

I searched everywhere for a table of these commands.  I wanted it for my Mac but many of my students use Windows so I wanted both.  Zoom had lists of commands.  Many websites contained their own lists of commands, but I wanted a TABLE.  That's how I think.

So . . . I created a Table of Zoom Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac and Window

There was much to learn while I collected these shortcuts.  Did you know that:

• if you are muted, you only have to press the SPACE BAR to temporarily unmute yourself?
• you can raise or lower your hand using Alt-Y (on both platforms)?
• you can show/hide the chat room using Command-Shift-H (or Alt-H on Windows)?
• on Windows, you can flip between pages of participants using PageDown or PageUp?
• Windows uses the F6 to flip between Zoom Windows.  This is great when you have too many open windows on your screen and get lost.  Hit F6 a few times and you will get where you want to be.

You will notice that the letters used for each command are the same on both platforms.  Windows usually uses the Alt key.  Mac uses the Alt key too, but it is also labeled as Option.

I am still on the lookout for some keyboard shortcuts:

• Zoom Window Navigation shortcut on my Mac.
• Flip between Gallery View and Active Speaker shortcut on my Mac.
• Rename shortcut for either platform
• Hide Non-Video Participants shortcut as well. 

Readers: Do you know any of these shortcuts?  if so, send me a note and I will include them.

ZOOM VIDEO CORP . . . CAN YOU HEAR ME?   Please expand your Zoom Keyboard Shortcuts using some of these suggestions.  You have an incredible product and we just want to help you make it better.

Z

Switching Cameras on Zoom = Document Camera

 I FOUND IT!!!

I found the answer to the question that many educators have been asking:

"How can I connect a document camera to my laptop for my Zoom classes?"

The answer is: 

                     SHIFT-COMMAND-N (or Alt-N for Windows users)

What does this mean, you say? This is your Keyboard Shortcut for Switching Cameras.

THE DOCUMENT CAMERA CHALLENGE

You want to share papers or browse through books or write formulas on paper in such a way that your students can see them.  The problem is how can they will be able to see them?  You probably can't bring home the document camera from school or maybe you can't figure out how to integrate your document camera into your Zoom session.

THE ANSWER

The answer is to use another camera that is held by an overhead camera holder. This camera holder could be one that you purchase (gooseneck or tripod) or a DIY camera holder.   The camera could be your webcam, your phone, or a tablet. Just as long as it is  connected to our laptop with a USB cable. (You could use wireless, but it can be trickier.)

Position the camera above the paper and plug it into your USB port.  Write on the paper and it will be captured through the camera.

The problem has been how to switch between cameras?  What do you click to tell Zoom to transfer from your laptop camera to the USB camera and back again?  

The popular answer to this has been to make your changes through the Share Screen menu.  This meant that you had to click on the green box and then change the source for your sharing.

Then came SHIFT-COMMAND-N (or Alt-N for Windows users) 

This is a Zoom Keyboard Shortcut that will quickly switch between your laptop camera and your USB camera.  You can talk with your students face-to-face and when you want to show them how to create a graph on paper, you just hit the magic keys and it switches to your USB camera over the paper where you can demonstrate the process.  Tap those keys again and it will return to your wise face so that you can tell them more about it.  You continue to use the same microphone in each case so you can talk while their eyes are trained on paper.

AMAZING, ISN'T IT?

This can be used for any situation where you want to show something other than your face - playing the piano, looking at a map, demonstrating chess moves, conducting an experiment, drawing a picture . . . the list is endless.

I know that this shortcut has been around for a long time but it is the first time that I put the two together so I thought you might like to know.

Have you already been using this?  If so, what have you done?   Just respond in the comments below.

Looking forward to hearing about your adventures.

Z

A question was raised about how many cameras you could use simultaneously.  We tried plugging 3 cameras into USB ports and the "magic key" combination progressed from one camera to the next in rotation.  Imagine if you set it up so that you used your laptop camera for you, one webcam over a sheet of music, and another over your piano keyboard so that you could demonstrate various fingerings and techniques.  Exciting, eh?

image: info.squarecap.com

Looking for a Break while Zooming?

A few years ago, I contacted Zoom and suggested that it would be useful if there was a way that I could write something on the screen so that if I had to leave my chair during my 2 hours of Zoom Student Hours.  This might be something as simple as Be Right Back!!!   

They responded by telling me what a GREAT idea that was.  I still don't see that great idea implemented. 

Today, out of desperation, I found another answer to my dilemma.  

What do you do?

Zooming with Amy Kangas about SAMR & TIM

DrZReflects.com

I am privileged to be Zooming with Amy Kangas and her wonderful class of educators who are spending the next week exploring what it means to be a 21st Century Teacher.  

While I will just be there to answer questions and share some experiences, here are a few resources that might be useful for our discussion.

Video Conferencing:

• Zoom.us             tinyurl.com/z-zoomroom

Technology Integration

• Building Learning Through the Technology Integration

SAMR

• Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything - SAMR

Technology Integration Matrix:

• Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally
• Florida's Technology Integration Matrix 
• Arizona's Technology Integration Matrix

UNI Instructional Technology Masters Program

• Instructional Technology Program
• Master of Arts: Instructional Technology
• 2014 Instructional Technology Cohort (2-year program)