Teaching With Zoom

This checklist can serve as a self-assessment of what you can currently accomplish with the Zoom videoconferencing software. It lists some of the Zoom-related activities/abilities that may be most helpful to your first days of teaching with Zoom. Along with the activities/abilities listed, we will be adding links to related help pages prepared by the CLS, the Poorvu Center, Yale ITS, Zoom, and others.

1. Before your first class with Zoom:

1.1 Setup your Zoom account:

1.2 Setup the Zoom software:

  • Download the Zoom Client for Meetings (for Mac or Windows) or the Zoom Mobile App (see Apple App Store button for iPhone/iPad, or the Google Play button for Android devices).
  • Install the downloaded software.
  • Test out joining a meeting.

1.3 Practice using Zoom with one or two of your colleagues:

Start a meeting:

  • Open Zoom.
  • Start a Zoom meeting.
  • Invite your colleague(s) to join your meeting, giving them your Zoom Personal Meeting ID or link.
  • Unmute your audio in Zoom.
  • Mute and unmute all your colleagues, as needed.
  • Related help:

Share screens:

  • Show an application window or file that’s on your computer (PowerPoint or Keynote slideshow, Word or Pages document, PDF or image, a video or other file that’s on your computer).
  • Share a web page or web browser.
  • Allow your colleagues to annotate a document that you’re sharing.
  • Select the option to see the names of your colleagues next to their annotations.
  • Ask a colleague to share their screen so everyone can see, and subsequently to stop sharing.
  • Related help: Sharing Your Screen (Zoom)

Put your colleagues in breakout rooms:

  • Automatically assign your colleagues to breakout rooms.
  • Manually assign your colleagues to breakout rooms.
  • Visit different breakout rooms.
  • Close breakout rooms to return to whole group.
  • Related help: Getting Starting with Breakout Rooms (Zoom)

Do other things:

1.4 Email students before your first session:

  • Remind students of first class time.
  • Include your Zoom Personal Meeting ID and/or Zoom meeting link
    OR if you chose to set up recurrent meetings, include the recurrent meeting ID
    OR if you chose to set up your Zoom meetings in Canvas, include the instructions for accessing your Zoom meeting via Canvas (e.g., that students should check the Zoom tool in your Canvas course and/or the Canvas Calendar tool to see when your Zoom sessions are scheduled). 
  • [Optional] Include link to Canvas site, if newly using Canvas.
  • [Optional] Attach files, if relevant.
  • [Optional] Include instructions for what, if anything, you want students to prepare before your first Zoom class.
  • [Optional] Survey students regarding issues (access to computer or Internet; time zone differences, etc.).

2. At the time of your first class with Zoom:

2.1 Start your Zoom class:

  • Open Zoom.
  • Start your Zoom session, while you await students.
  • Start your video in Zoom.
  • Unmute your audio in Zoom.
  • Mute and unmute all students, as needed.

2.2 Orient students to Zoom class dynamics

Note: This can be aided by sharing help documents (provided by CLS, Yale, Zoom, etc.) with students before class, and by practicing delivering these instructions to your colleagues :

  • Remind students to mute/unmute.
  • Remind students to raise hands.
  • Remind students of how to change views (e.g., gallery view, speaker view, Pin speaker, etc.).
  • Remind students about how to annotate the document that you share when you share your screen.
  • Remind students about breakout rooms, how to ask for help when they’re in one, etc.

2.3 Share screens:

  • Show an application window or file that’s on your computer (PowerPoint or Keynote slideshow, Word or Pages document, PDF or image, a video or other file that’s on your computer).
  • Share a web page or web browser.
  • Allow students to annotate a document that you’re sharing.
  • Select the option to see the names of students next to their annotations.
  • Ask student to share their screen so everyone can see, and subsequently to stop sharing.
  • Related help: Sharing Your Screen (Zoom)

2.4 Put students in breakout rooms:

  • Automatically assign students to breakout rooms.
  • Manually assign students to breakout rooms.
  • Visit different breakout rooms.
  • Close breakout rooms to return to whole group.
  • Related help: Getting Starting with Breakout Rooms (Zoom)

2.5 Do other things:

3. Relevant Support Resources

3.1 CLS Language Faculty Peer Support Network

For Yale language language instructors, the Language Faculty Peer Support Network site on Canvas includes additional materials, such as video recordings of the Zoom webinar trainings that the CLS has given, and other resources and information on online language teaching. Please contact Maria Ideliu for access to the site, if you have not already done so.

3.2 CLS One-On-One Meetings

If you are a Yale language instructor in need of one-on-one assistance in teaching using Zoom, you can also schedule a meeting online with a CLS staff member. Meetings will also be held via Zoom. Requires CAS login.

3.3 Other Resources