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About
When you first begin to teach synchronous sessions, it may feel a little intimidating: the participants are at a distance, the technology may be unfamiliar, and there is an awareness that you might not be seeing what the students are seeing when you try to share content. Here are some tips to help ensure a more enjoyable, productive experience:
- Practice using WebEx prior to your first class and anytime you want to try something new. You can use the Guest Link option to generate a link that could be used by a colleague, friend, or family member willing to help you practice!
- Test out all your equipment, including camera, microphone, and speakers.
- After you have time to practice, hold a drop-in "tryout" session for students, so they also have the opportunity to test their camera, microphone, and speakers ahead of the first class.
- If you plan on sharing your screen, make sure you know the difference between sharing the entire screen and sharing either an application or a tab. We also recommend using Google Chrome for best results.
- If you plan to share a file, upload it before the class starts; larger files may take a little while to load.
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- Also note, PowerPoints that are uploaded to WebEx are no longer "live" - if you had actions that happened "on click" or embedded links or media, these will no longer work. If you need these features, it is better to share your screen and run PowerPoint separately.
- Communicate/Have contingency plans in place ahead of time for technical difficulties you might encounter. What should happen if (examples):
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- A student is unable to connect to a session?
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- You do not show up in the session? How long should they wait for you to join?
- You lose your connection in the middle of a session? How long should they wait for you to rejoin?
- Plan to use Breakout Groups, if possible. As we have stressed, interaction is key for remote synchronous sessions and small groups are the most effective way to have students participate equally.
Source: (OSCQR Standard 16, 19)