The A&S Return to Grounds FAQ is an excellent source for up to date information about classroom use.  

Visit your classroom in advance and ask a Classroom Support staff member to join you. Have a colleague, friend, or LDT staff member meet you online so you can experience the combination of online and in-person participation. Contact Classrooms Support at (434) 982-4586 or [email protected]. If you have questions about developing class activities and assessments, organizing class time, or using new online teaching tools, reach out to [email protected]. 

Suggestion 1: Consider what could be let go. Could you stop using PowerPoint/slides quite as often, to avoid having to remember to share your screen? If your slides, videos, and readings are spread across multiple places (especially places that are password-protected), could you put them all in a Lessons page on Collab to simplify access? This can save you time and confusion when opening resources mid-class.  

Suggestion 2: Plan tech time into your lesson. At least for the first weeks of the semester, for example, plan a 40-minute lesson rather than a 50-minute lesson.  

Suggestion 3: Contact LDT at [email protected] to have an instructional designer visit your class (in-person or via Zoom) to offer feedback. UVA Classrooms Support is also available to offer technical advice (as well as in-the-moment tech support) for courses taught in a classroom. 

In addition to course materials, students should bring their laptops and headsets, if they will participate in Zoom discussions or breakout rooms with remote students. Masks are of course required. Here are some technical support resources to share with students. 

This happens when multiple microphones and speakers are ‘live’ in the classroom. Mute the microphones and speakers on any extra devices you might have connected to Zoom (your personal laptop, iPad, phone, etc). You may also need to mute the classroom speakers (click the volume button, lower right of computer screen). Contact Classrooms Support at (434) 982-4586 or [email protected] for help.  

Suggestions: Videos shared over Zoom can be inaccessible to students with poor internet access. Try it out. Show a couple of videos over Zoom and ask students to use the chat to provide feedback on whether they experienced any lag, freezing, lost audio, etc.  

1. If you will be sharing a video over Zoom, when in “share screen” mode, be sure to click the boxes to "Share sound" and "Optimize for video clip."

2. Rather than streaming a video via Zoom, set aside class time for students to watch video content on their own. Provide students with the link or file they need to watch, and make viewing a part of homework, or designate a section of class time for viewing individually, followed by discussion activities.  

Writing on the board is unlikely to be viewable by remote students, as it is not dark or precise enough to be seen clearly. Follow the “Alternatives to Writing on the Board” advice. 

Suggestions:  

1. Have students track their work while in the breakout rooms and/or share their work with the class after breakouts.  
2. Assign roles (organizer, recorder, presenter, devil’s advocate, etc) before students move into breakout rooms.  
3. Use the “broadcast” function to broadcast messages to rooms as needed. 

4. Encourage students to use the “ask for help” function if they need you to join their room. 
5. Moving yourself from breakout room to breakout room is a slow process. Consider using this tactic sparingly. 

Suggestions: Work with UVA Classrooms Support to set up your windows and programs before class. Zoom and powerpoint both offer settings you can enable while using two monitors. Contact Classrooms Support at (434) 982-4586 or [email protected]. 

Suggestions: In order to make use of microphones and cameras in the classroom, you need to use the classroom-installed PC. You can bring your own device (phone, tablet, or laptop) to class and join your zoom class meeting from that device. Use that device to share your screen, but NOT to join the audio (if you join the audio, you need to mute the microphone and the audio/speakers of the device). See the “iPad + stylus” section for more info.