Zoom Tips

Owned by Brad Hunt (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Mar 25, 2020 by Jim Metcalf
3 min read

Difficulties with Live Sessions

  • Bandwidth

    • Check your internet speeds. Because so many people are staying home and using the internet at the same time, our bandwidth and service are slowing down in many neighborhoods. Visit speedtest.net to gauge your internet speeds. If your speeds are below 20 megabits per second, there’s a high likelihood your video is going to look pixelated and have audio delays.

    • As the number of participants increases, so too does the bandwidth required. This can lead to choppy audio, video cutting in and out, even dropped connections. These issues compound as more users connect.

    • Bandwidth is also reliant on the user's connection. Slow internet could prevent a user from being able to join the live session.

    • Compression happens in real time on each individual's connection. Even though everyone else may not be experiencing any issues, a slow connection may cause audio/video to cut out for a single user

  • Audio

    • Audio is "one-way", meaning a participant cannot hear their own audio. This can cause situations where a single user can inject a lot of background noise that all users can hear if not muted. The user will not be aware of this unless told.

    • Test the microphone. Make sure you wear a headset with a built-in microphone or use an external microphone — the microphone included on laptops can sound very poor. The easiest way to make sure you sound good is to do a video call with a friend and ask how you sound, then adjust accordingly.

    • Quality differences in group discussions can also be a very distracting, even hindering factor in communication

  • Video

    • Preview your webcam. Mac users can launch the Photo Booth app, and Windows users can click the Start button, then Camera. Here, you can check your picture. Adjust your indoor lighting and camera angle to make your face look properly lit. And most important, be mindful of what’s in the background: Anything you wouldn’t want your colleagues to normally see, like your liquor collection or dirty laundry, should be out of the frame.

    • Live video uses a large amount of bandwidth for both the host and end user. 

    • Due to live compression algorithms, screen sharing uses significantly less bandwidth, but can still be taxing on slower internet connections.

  • User Limitations

    • Our Pro Licenses are limited to 300 users in one meeting and may pose issues for large sessions.

  • Moderating

    • For large meetings, simply moderating the chat can be hectic, much less while trying to teach a lesson. It is easy to miss a student's question or need for assistance. Having to interrupt lessons to direct someone to mute their audio is burdensome and time consuming.

Suggestions for Live Sessions

  • Only share audio - do NOT stream video and disable video for all participants

    • Screen-sharing may be used when beneficial, but disable once it hinders audio performance

  • Begin the meeting with Participant audio set to "off"

  • Have a Co-Host

    • Co-Hosts can be designated once your meeting has started. They will have the ability to mute/unmute participants for you and even disable video

    • a Co-Host can monitor the chat which students can use to communicate questions, need for assistance, and inquire about technical issues. A Co-Host can alleviate some of the distraction and burden by communicating through the chat and not interrupting the main lecture or conversation

  • Train students to only unmute their microphones when speaking, then mute directly after

  • Train students to use the "raise hand" button that is available to them on screen

  • Only use live sessions when necessary

  • Beneficial examples of live session usage

    • Q&A Sessions

    • Small group projects / breakout sessions

    • Exam reviews

    • Problem solving

How to Set Up a Live Session - With Terry OIT's Recommended Settings

  1. Open Zoom and Schedule a New Meeting

    1. For steps on how to schedule a meeting, click here

  2. Input the name of your meeting and appropriate schedule information

  3. Under the "Video" section, next both Host and Participant, select "off"

  4. Audio can be left at the default of "Telephone and Computer Audio"

  5. Under "Meeting Options" let's enable the following by checking the box:

    1. Enable join before host

    2. Mute participants upon entry