Our Top Tips for Holding Unscammable Sessions Over Zoom

After many Zooms, we’ve learned a lot about teaching digital skills classes on the platfrom (some of it learned the hard way 😮‍💨). So, we've gathered our top tips to make sure your Zoom classes run super smoothly and keep your learners engaged. Here they are:

1. Know Your Zoom Tools

Get comfortable with the Zoom features you want to use—screen sharing, chat, and the Raise Your Hand feature are the ones we use most often. Doing a quick run-through of each before class can save you a lot of hassle later.

2. Test Your Gear & Background

Check your microphone, camera, and internet connection (fast.com is a great place to check speed). We like to do this about 15 minutes before the session starts. This gives everyone time to settle and introduce themselves in the chat. Don’t forget to tidy up your background—ensure it looks neat and professional.

3. Prepare Ahead

Open your presentation, and put any other materials you need at your fingertips. Sharing resource links directly in the chat makes it easy for students to access downloads, so we put all these links in an open document. Then, we can copy the link and quickly paste it into a chat when the time is right.

4. Welcome People Early

Start the session a few minutes early to welcome students and help everyone settle in. Use the chat to remind them to turn off their microphones. Asking people to introduce themselves in the chat with a note about their location is a nice touch to build a community “Hi, Sally from Victoria.” sort of thing.

5. Muted Microphones, Please

Ask everyone to keep their microphones muted when they’re not speaking. This simple step helps keep your voice clear and front and centre. Let them know that headphones can reduce background noise and make it easier to hear.

6. Taking Questions

Remind them that in-class questions need to be on-topic questions. The “Raise Your Hand" feature is handy. It gives you a chance to finish your thoughts before answering a question. Whatever question flow you prefer, let people know the "rules" in the chat and remind them again at the beginning of each session. This way, everyone knows the best way to get help.

7. Use Chat Wisely

Ask students to post questions in the chat. But keep in mind that it can be tough to monitor while teaching. So, we go through chat questions and choose the on-topic ones for the Q&A at the end.

8. Connectivity Glitches

If someone is struggling with a bad Zoom connection, suggest they rejoin the meeting. Sometimes, turning off their video can help with freezing screens. It is generally not possible for you to troubleshoot during a class. We suggest people use the Zoom Support page for guidance.

The fast.com website will help them see how fast their internet connection is at that moment. For most Zoom meetings, 1.5 Mbps (upload and download) is typically enough for standard HD (720p) group video. If they are having issues with their connection, they should talk to their internet provider.

Ready to Get Started with Unscammable for iPhone?

Just use the links below to grab your teaching materials.

• 🔗 Unscammable for iPhone: Phase 1 Dashboard

• 🔗 Unscammable for iPhone: Phase 2 Dashboard

• 🔗 Unscammable for iPhone: Phase 3 Dashboard

🍎 Happy Zooming!