I just learned that after April 17th, we will begin using Zoom with our teachers (for staff meetings) and teachers will use Zoom with students (for remote learning). Is anyone currently using it to teach?
Not officially, but I've heard good things about it, so I'm playing with it for at least recording lessons.
So that means a decision was made not to go back after April 17th? I've been checking my email, waiting for some kind of news. I'm sure they probably don't knw much and there isn't much to tell, but the last email I received regarding all this was las Wednesday or Thursday
I've seen a lot of people talking about / using Zoom (I've seen on social media), for example dance teachers / yoga teachers give classes via Zoom. I actually haven't checked it out yet.
They just told administrators today (maybe an hour ago). I'm not sure when they'll tell teachers. They want to get us trained on Zoom first so they can then let teachers know what the plan is. We're definitely not going back after April 17th.
We have been instructed to use google meet, but a lot of people are playing with Zoom and much prefer it, so our tech dept is looking at allowing it.
We were told to be available by email and phone, so we're not expected to do much. Packets going out this week.
My colleagues and I are currently using Zoom. It actually is incredibly easy to use and allows you to set up recurring meeting times, so once you set up a meeting, you don’t have to set up another meeting. I did this for each one of my classes and it’s really awesome. I would recommend downloading the client app because it is easier to join or host a meeting. When logging in, I recommend logging in using Google mail because there is no need to enter in your login credentials each time — you can just click and go. I set the settings to allow participants to join the meeting before I arrive so I can just go once I enter. I would deselect the annotation option so students can’t make stray markings on your lecture slides. I also would turn off the feature that allows multiple participants to share screens. Multiple devices from a host can log into Zoom. I have found it easier to screen share Smart Notebook files and reference the material that way than to use the Smart Board at the same time as I have the webcam record my lessons. You have the option to self-record by turning on/off the Start Video/Stop Video in the task bar at the bottom or top of the screen. I like the feature that zooms in on students who have questions and so you can hear them when they speak. It’s great! When setting Zoom meetings, make sure to share the Meeting ID and the Password if you create one for that specific meeting. I just posted the meeting times and aforementioned information in Google Classroom and it has worked wonderfully. And, if you want to have group members split up into small teams, then they can enter what is called a Breakout Room and it is really good for managing small groups. The best part: You can have them arranged randomly so it is not always the same people getting grouped together. My colleagues and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Zoom!
Haven't used it yet, but my Book Club is having a glass of wine together via Zoom is a couple of days!
Can you tell me how this works? If someone else set up a zoom meeting, do they give me a phone number? Then what do I do?
They send you a Zoom Meeting link (a url) that you click on or you can paste it into your web browser. The url allows to bypass having to enter the Meeting ID and/or password. You can also go to the Zoom website and enter in the Member ID and/or password to do the same thing, basically, which are the login credentials that give you access by clicking “Join a Meeting.” You then will be taken to a Zoom webpage and, if you accept, it will download a file that allows you to view the chatroom/video. Click on that to open it and you can start participating. You, as the host, will direct the meeting and give or remove permissions to the people viewing the meeting. During a meeting, you can Start/Stop the video (meaning you can allow participants to watch you via webcam or not), you can screen share which enables participants to view your desktop and what you do in real time, you can chat with participants by typing in the designated room aptly tilted “Chat,” you can record your meetings and save them for later use, you can mute all participants, and you can kick them from the video. There are a TON of features and it really is excellent.
How are you doing the packets. We were asked in a survey today if we preferred to teach online or send packets. I’m thinking to myself how I’ve always focused on hands-on learning so not a lot of at hand packets. Then, I’m trying to image going into school (we are banned currently) to make 120 copies of packets each week putting me at risk....
A bunch of my friends have been using Zoom for virtual cocktail parties. It seems fairly idiot-proof even while we're all on our third beverages. Probably not what you needed to know, but there you are.
I do 30 minutes of Zoom a day for kids to stop in and chat or ask questions. I’ve had ONE kid in two days.
Eh, they are doing their work, and I’m emailing them and texting them and their parents. It’s okay. We are interacting with a good portion of the kids. The kids work with a pod of four teachers, so all of us interact with one another, too. We keep track of kids that way as well.
I'm about to find out. We haven't started remote learning yet as this our spring break. We've had meetings over zoom that have been fine, but I think for the teaching part they're wanting us to record videos and upload them. Seems like it's going to be pretty awkward to me. When asking them to do something, do I pause for a few seconds, presume they are "answering" and then say the correct answer several seconds later so they can check themselves? 90% of my teaching is direct instruction with phonemic awareness/phonics activities. It's typically very interactive. It's not going to make sense for me to just upload videos "explaining things."
I am doing mini lessons as recordings, and meeting with small groups on Zoom for things like reading and writing.
Do you have to pay for Zoom? Do you need to participate in real time or can you look at what happened in the room at a later date? Does everyone participating need a camera? Our local arts center does book clubs so they are trying Zoom at the end of the month.
I've been trying to tutor on Zoom. We just switched this week. I've not been able to figure out the shared screen though I think I figured it out today. The student has autism and is not wanting to be helpful. My students that I teach for a living got packets and the district is trying to figure out a way to get laptops out to them, I think. The problem with my class is is that when I tried to call parents, I got several unworking numbers. I can't imagine trying to get them online.
We are using Zoom for staff meetings and were told we could use it for weekly check ins with our students. It's been great -- while video is not quite the same as interacting with people in person, it's been nice to see and talk to people while the city is shut down. My church has been using Zoom pretty extensively as well for mid-week events, small groups, leader meetings and check ins... it's been really helpful in keeping me from going stir crazy and feeling completely shut in.
@TeacherNY - Zoom is a free account and there is a limit of 40 min and how many participants (100 I think) but there was a banner that said the 40 min limitation is waived for now. If the host records the meeting, he or she can send the recording out. I am not sure if it is saved on the host's account or not. I have seen it done but not do it myself.
Just saw this video on youtube about using Google Meet. I hope posting the youtube link is ok here. If you have G-suite for Education, he said that your IT admin has to turn this on. It is very similar to Zoom. I have not use it and this is not turn on at my school.
Zoom is free for the first 40 minutes. If you just utilize the free version, the lesson will automatically end after 40 minutes. With the whole Coronavirus situation, they have waived the fees and removed the 40-minute time restriction for schools affected by the closures. https://zoom.us/pricing
My suggestion/recommendation for teachers: Do not allow participants to: share their screens, unmute themselves, rename themselves, or write on your shared screen. If an unauthorized person gains access, then they can't do anything unless they turn their video on.
Are the "live" meetings going well? This was discussed as one of our service options and it kind of sounds like a nightmare to me. I work with K-2 and I'm not sure the kids will just sit at their computers and participate appropriately like they would in a classroom. I have a lot of behavior issues that are mitigated by being extremely structured, having really tight pacing, and enforcing very strict expectations for how students sit and participate in the group normally. Muting them won't work if I want to run the lessons like I normally would- I expect students to be constantly participating/saying things and I do a lot of choral response (so it's not like raise your hand and I will unmute you to answer the question). I've had a lot of work related meetings via zoom and we keep having technical difficulties- I'm guessing because so many people are on it. I'm also in a low SES school and think it's probably unrealistic to expect that kids can just log on every day at 10 AM or whenever I say the group is. A lot of our parents are still working and/or have a lot more things on their mind that take precedence over online learning.
My students are 6 & 7 years old. I mute them, even if we are doing choral reading. Unfortunately, it's just really distracting otherwise. It's not a perfect situation, but it works. I hope that all my students will come to each session, but I can't force them. I'm there to work with and support anyone who can attend. The parents get frustrated because they have a hard time with the teaching part, so I try to do the heavier lifting with my small groups. I serve an affluent population, so that also makes a difference. I actually do keep the same expectations. I do ask them to raise their hand and I unmute them. I make them give me "hands and eyes" and they do it. It really does work. Just on your comment, "if I want to run the lessons like I normally would". Nothing we're doing right now is the way we would normally do it. Because learning is different, our teaching and expectations will have to be as well. It won't look the same because it's not the same. I think we just do the best with what we have.
I am so sad. One of my all-star teachers wanted to do a trial run of Zoom with her class today (she has 34 fourth graders). We have not officially started distance learning, but she’s someone who always wants to be ahead of the curve. Anyway, only 2 kids (out of 34) showed up! She was so disappointed! I feel like we’re not going to have a good turnout at my site, in particular.
They can invite you/ just accept in your email or they give you a passcode and meeting number. Either way works.
Don't worry! It is hard to get everyone on at the same time due to home lives and schedules. If she can break them up into smaller groups, start with 1 small group at a time after getting parent input on times available, and then increase a group a week, it can work for a lot of kids.
Oh, and also the kids love it! It is very user friendly. Celebrate each group that makes it to the meetings! It takes some time on the phone in advance though to get parents set up to help.
Can you explain how or where to do this? I actually ended up in someone else's zoom meeting accidently yesterday. I have no clue how. Well, I do kind of have a clue...lol
