Keep in mind the following when conducting synchronous sessions:
- Value students’ time
- Ask yourself if what students will experience is something they need to actually be synchronously online for. For example, if you’re only planning on delivering content, perhaps they could watch a recording on their own time?
- Make your sessions interactive
- Plan activities in which students interact with each other and with you. Examples include using breakout rooms for small group work, posing polling questions and student mediated sessions or discussions.
- Strive for your students leaving the session thinking “I’m so glad I attended. What I gained from that session I couldn’t have gotten through asynchronous activities”
- Watch your timing
- Keep it short
- Provide breaks
- Keep lectures brief
- Set up before class
- Have all materials you plan on sharing open before session begins, for example slides or documents.
- Close any other windows you aren’t using
- Check your audio/video settings
- Schedule accordingly
- Online activities often take longer than you expect
- If you have an hour, plan for 45 minutes.
- Ensure high quality sound
- Hold your sessions in a quiet space to avoid distractions and ambient noise
- Use a headset / microphone for best sound quality
- Encourage students to do the same
- Use a high speed connection for best experience
- If you have an ethernet jack, consider plugging in instead of using wireless
- Encourage students to do the same
- Provide students with consistent access
- Put a link to your virtual office in multiple places for example the left hand navigation pane of Laulima, your email signature line, your syllabus.
- Record your sessions
- Have a reminder for yourself to click the record button
- Provide recording links in a consistent place, for example in Laulima resources or on a Google doc