Keep all conferences between the school day hours
Be aware of student images and privacy before sharing on social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). To protect student privacy while in their homes, student full names and images should not be shared
Do not record students in a video conference.
Keep your first conferencing sessions low stakes for yourself and your students, we are all learning this new way to connect
Do not post your Hangouts Meet URLs or Zoom URLs on websites or social media. Keep the URLs in a secure platform like Schoology or SeeSaw
Set a time and share that information with students, along with directions on how to login (provided on this site).
Prepare the lesson (keep it LIGHT and BRIEF) and choose a clear learning target.
Prepare to teach students how to conduct themselves during an online meeting. What are 3 behaviors you are expecting them to do during the meeting?
Think through your settings. What do you want the students to have access to during the meeting? How will you set the expectations for these? What materials will you be sharing?
Be ready for hiccups. Everyone's Internet access will be different. HD video is not the standard, so plan for the lowest threshold of connectivity.
Bottom line: we are learning together!
Video Conferencing offers features that can be turned on and off. Think through what you want your students to have access to, and then how will you set the expectations. This doesn't have to be all at once, start slow.
To respect the privacy of families and homes, do not record video conferencing sessions.
Video conferencing when used strategically can be a great way to engage students. Have students interacting or discussing or performing during a video conference – not just sitting and getting information. If it is content you want to share or present, consider recording a video instead. Then use a video conference session to discuss or interact based on the viewed content.