Many of us have at one time or another attended an online meeting that did not work very well. Maybe you were unable to hear someone's audio, or the meeting might have lasted much longer than expected. Creating some guidelines for behavior in meetings can help alleviate some of the problems that may arise. On this page you will find a collection of good ideas you may want to implement in your online teaching. They are arranged first from the teachers perspective and responsibility, and then for the student / participant.

Teacher's role

Many of these ideas could could apply just as well to on-campus teaching as they do online.

Purpose and time frames

One recommendation is to start each session by reminding the participants of the purpose of the meeting and also to visualize the schedule and meeting times. See examples of meeting schedules with planned breaks.

brain-author-john hain (pixabay.com)

Create a sense of presence

Model behaviors you want to see from others. Greet the participants when they join the meeting and encourage them to greet each other.
To create a friendly atmosphere between you and students, add a few minutes at the beginning for small talk.
Combine individual work with group activities.
In group work, it is important that participants can introduce themselves for each other (depending on how well the participants know each other).
Leave room for quiet voices and reach out to reluctant or shy participants. Do not be afraid to silence dominant voices.
Use 'raise hand' and other features to give everyone a chance to ask a question or make a comment.

Camera on or off?

One discussion that arose during the spring semester was how strange it felt teaching to 'invisible' students, when they did not want to turn on their webcam during an online meeting. There are of course several reasons why some students do not want to show themselves, i.e. a slow Internet connection, afraid of being seen in a recording or have a messy home environment.

On the other hand, the reason we hold online classes is that we cannot meet on campus. It is natural that the teacher wants to see the students in teaching situations. Facial expressions help us signal if we have something to say, if we agree, if we are focused or if we need to take a break. It is good if the participants show themselves for each other at some point, especially if they have not previously met. However, if it is not appropriate or possible to be visible for the larger group, it is extra important to actively participate in other forms, e.g. by answering questions more often and speaking.

Audio on or off?

Make an assessment based on the teaching context whether it is appropriate to allow the participants to turn on their microphone or not. We often read recommendations that participants should have their microphone muted, except when someone wants to ask a question or discuss in breakout groups to minimize the risk of background noises. The downside is that it sometimes difficult to know how active participants are in the meeting if everyone is silent all the time. If the student group is not very large (over 20-25), it may feel more natural to have everyone's audio on. Of course, there are good reasons to stay muted, for example if someone has children in the room.

Dealing with interruptions

Either the teacher or an assistant should be ready to deal with unplanned disruptions, e.g. background noise or an unruly participant. Familiarize yourself with the features available for managing participants in the zoom app, such as the 'mute all' button and how to turn off someone's video. If it becomes necessary to mute someone's microphone or remove a participant, this can be done by clicking on that person in the 'manage participants' window.

Time for a break

An important difference with online teaching compared to teaching on campus is that we are stuck in front of our screens. Meeting time becomes screen time. Taking a break when needed allows the brain to rest so that we can better stay focused mentally. It also helps to reduce the physical exertion that most of us feel in the neck and eyes during longer e-meetings.

Discuss the management of breaks with the students (at least once an hour). Visualize the break time with a digital board, such as online.stopwatch.com, set the timer to full-screen mode and share it in Zoom so that all participants know how much time is left until it is time to resume the meeting.

Evaluating the teaching session

Add some time to get feedback from the students about how they experienced the online session. By showing that you care about what students think and that their opinions are important, you build trust. This can lead to ideas to improve future sessions and make a better experience for everyone.

Meeting participants

It is worth the time, especially at the beginning of the semester to establish some rules that everyone can agree on. The following points can lay the foundation for a dialogue about behavior during online meetings and your expectations of each other.

Show respect for each other

Consider online-learning as you would on-campus lessons. A student would not normally attend a seminar in pajamas, so you should preferably not do this for a seminar held in the form of an e-meeting. Find a quiet place to sit and minimize distractions such as cell phones or the TV. Read all material sent to you in advance.

Test the equipment

All students have the opportunity to download the Zoom app and can create their own meetings. Before joining a meeting as a participant, check that audio and video are working on your device. You can also try other features of the meeting tool and make sure they understand how they work.

Web camera tips

Sit in a place with good lighting and avoid sitting with your back to a window. Otherwise, you will appear as a dark silhouette for the other participants. Put something under a laptop (books?) or find a way to set the phone or tablet so that the camera is at the same height as your eyes. Look at the camera often, especially when talking.

Communication

Encourage questions - It can be more difficult to interrupt someone during an e-meeting than it is in a classroom. Therefore, it is important to create a meeting culture where it is expected to ask questions.
If something is stops working, say something - with digital tools, there is always a possibility that something will go wrong - an image that has been stopped or a distracting noise. It is better to risk interrupting someone who is talking and correcting the problem, than to feel frustrated and lose focus on the topic.
Take turns - To avoid speaking over each other, call on participants one at a time. Use a list of participants or have one person nominate the next person to speak.