Zoom includes a number of features that can facilitate student interactions with the instructor, and interactions among the students in meetings with larger groups or the whole class. The links below go to information about these features and steps for getting started with them. The CTE Resources on Synchronous teaching considerations and faculty reflections on teaching remotely in 2020 also offer some insights on how classes have benefitted from these features. You may want to share the “Zoom Guide for Participants” with students in order to inform them about using various Zoom functions in order to participate in class.
- You can see which students want to contribute to class discussion with the “Raise Hand” tool. The Participant list re-orders to bring those names to the top, which can be useful in working with larger groups. Read about hand-raising and other non-verbal feedback students can send (emojis they can use to respond to prompts, requests to change the pace, etc.) and options for managing them
- In addition to text-based exchange, Chat can be used to share other content such as files and links. Read about using and managing chat, including options for chat among the whole class or student-to-instructor.
- Anonymous polls return quick input from students, to check comprehension, spark discussion or provide data making decisions about the class. Read about creating polls on the fly or setting them up in advance, and running them during meetings.