Classroom Management and Security Online | Academic Newsletter | Seneca Polytechnic

by the Teaching & Learning Centre

in the June 2020 issue

With the use of a variety of technology tools, real-time synchronous classrooms are now possible and provide opportunities for discussions and events that can be recorded and archived for later viewing. Clarity of expectations and guidelines for students is important to ensure learning and understanding. It is good to also have procedures in place to provide a safe online classroom environment where every student can participate and learn.

Seneca supports the following web conferencing tools: BigBlueButton*, Microsoft Teams*, Webex*, and Zoom*.

These online classroom management tips can help create a smooth and trusting learning environment.

Privacy and Security

• Use an authenticated process for people to join; for example, have students join through the course tool, not through a guest link.
• Only share the guest link with your guest speaker(s) and ask them not to distribute it.

Classroom Management

• Mute all attendees – both audio and video – to reduce background noise and distractions.
• Pause at regular intervals to answer questions, rather than answering them as they come in, and explain this format to your students. For example, have a block of presentation for 10-15 minutes, stop for 5-10 minutes to answer questions, and then start another presentation for another block of time.
• Use a Discussion Board outside of the session to collect additional questions not answered during the session.

Sharing Screens

• Try to share only the screen or application you are working with. Sharing the “entire screen” can take a lot more bandwidth and may make the connection choppy.
• Have the applications you want to demonstrate open before you share; then, when you enter sharing, select the application from the options available.
• Open another browser (or another tab) and open a web page you wish to share. When entering screen sharing, select that other web page (or tab) and demonstrate from there. That way, you can pop back and forth to check to see what the students are seeing and check for any chat messages.

File Sharing

• Upload your files (PowerPoints, PDFs, images) in advance of your session as it may take a bit of time for files to upload, especially during high-use times.

Recording

• Record your session if you are presenting course materials. If students are not able to join or have technical issues, you can share the recording with them.
• Inform students you will be recording.

View the June 2020 issue of the Academic Newsletter.