Overview

Zoom Video Communications is a company headquartered in San Jose, California (US) that provides remote conferencing services using cloud computing.

Zoom offers communications software that combines video conferencing, online meetings, chat, and mobile collaboration.

Synchronous communication means that two or more people exchange information in real-time. In this case we are talking about synchronous learning.

Competences addressed

This experience may enhance the trainees:

• IT competences using videoconferencing devices
• Communication  and interaction skills
• Team work and social skills (as ZOOM also includes the possibility to work separately in small online collaborative groups)
• Self-empowerment

Make sure the online intervention is directly linked with a curriculum theme that can be enriched with the experience of a professional or expert in the field.

OBJECTIVES

The aim is to provide trainers with an opportunity to deliver online session/s or inviting a professional or an expert in one specific field to deliver a 15-20 minutes presentation on his/her topic and encourage students to make questions using the chat and collaborate online.

GROUP SIZE

The ideal number can vary from 15 to 20 trainees. The trainees can be divided in smaller groups of 5 to discuss specific questions or implement specific tasks, or it can be also completed individually.

TIME REQUIRED

40 minutes of use are for free in ZOOM.

The timeframe proposed for implementing this activity could be:

• 20-25 minutes presentation on his/her topic and encourage students to make questions.
• Another option would be to use 15 minutes for a talk, then organise an activity or question to discuss in groups of 5 trainees (they should select one speaker to report) during 10 minutes and then 3 to 4 trainees report about the results.

RESOURCES

Laptops, smartphones, internet access. The trainer needs to register and get familiarised with the platform and prepare the presentation or invite the professional/expert. Web cams and speakers, computers or mobile phones with connection are necessary for all participants.

PROCESS

The trainer/s will need to:

• Login in for free at https://www.zoom.us/signin
• Note: the free account includes: Host up to 100 participants, unlimited 1 to 1 meetings, 40 minutes. limit on group meetings, unlimited number of meetings, online support, video Conferencing Features, Web Conferencing Features, Group Collaboration Features, Security (Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption and AES 256 bits encryption)
• Follow a tutorial for beginners: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362413-How-Do-I-Schedule-Meetings-
• Open your Zoom client and sign in to Zoom.
• Click on the Schedule icon: This will open the scheduler window.
• Select your meeting settings.
• Click Schedule to finish, and open the selected calendar service to add the meeting.
• Provide the learners with the link and tell them they need to click on the link in the email (join via PC, Mac, iOS or Android) to be taken to the meeting. Advice all participants to download and participate via the ZOOM app.

At the end, you can conduct a chat with the students with questions and answers.

• Tips for trainers
• 1.     Have a clear and well-communicated agenda linked with your learning outcomes. A meeting with a vague purpose often leads to confusion and a lot of wasted time. Never hold an online meeting without a clear agenda. Also clearly mention what role you expect from each participant in the meeting. Send this agenda at least 24 hours before the meeting, and seek acknowledgment from all the participants.
  
  2.     Become the meeting moderator: No one can speak without your permission, and you will keep everyone focused on the topic. This is particularly important in online meetings, since there's a high chance of miscommunication due to internet connectivity and audio or video quality issues.
  
  3.     Prepare your system in advance: Ask all the participants to restart their computers at least 15 minutes before the meeting gets underway. Make sure your camera and microphone are working and that room is open.
  
  4.     Set time limits: for example, you can set the meeting duration to 40 minutes and assign 25 minutes to a presentation, 10 minutes to questions and 5 to presenting the evaluation. This way, the participants will stay focused and the meeting will not go off track.
  
  5.     Minimize distractions: Distractions can easily cause miscommunication in online meetings. To avoid them, make sure all your trainees are sitting in a closed and well-illuminated room with a clear background. Also, it's better to use headphones with microphone instead of your laptop's micro to ensure clear communication.
  
  6.     Conclude in a clear way: Conclude with the summary of what you have done, the key questions emerged and get acknowledgment from all the trainers
  
  (Adapted from Business.com editorial entry: https://www.business.com/articles/7-powerful-tips-for-highly-productive-online-meetings/)

VARIATIONS

As already mentioned you can opt for presentations with chat or short presentations, division in groups and report in the online room with all the participants.

We advise trainers to find interesting and motivating topics adapted to the group of trainees and to the context of the learning.

This videoconferencing activity could be used as part of the tools proposed in the different units of this platform (for example, for the presentation and for sharing the results of a WebQuest in Unit 4).

EXERCISES

• Exercise 1
• MULTIPLE CHOICE
  
  ZOOM is:
  
  1. A company offering audio meetings owned by Microsoft in 2011 to make a bigger move into IP communications
  2. A company headquartered in San Jose, California (US) that provides remote conferencing services using cloud computing
  3. A free software which code was developed by Estonian IT professionals
  
  (the right answer is b)
• Exercise 2
• Please mark whether the following sentences are True or False:
  • Zoom allows for asynchronous learning experiences (False)
  • Have a clear and well-communicated agenda linked with your learning outcomes is essential for a successful videoconferencing experience (True).
  • Distractions are necessary and will make the learning real (False)
• Interactive exercise 1
• 
  

  ZOOM is

  
  

   A company offering audio meetings owned by Microsoft in 2011 to make a bigger move into IP communications

   A company headquartered in San Jose, California (US) that provides remote conferencing services using cloud computing

   A free software which code was developed by Estonian IT professionals

  Submit
• Interactive exercise 2
• 
  

  Please mark whether the following sentences are True or False

  
  

  •   Zoom allows for asynchronous learning experiences
  True   False

  •   Have a clear and well-communicated agenda linked with your learning outcomes is essential for a successful videoconferencing experience
  True   False

  •   Distractions are necessary and will make the learning real
  True   False

  Submit