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Teaching lectures online can be a great way to reach students that may not be able to attend your class in person due to disability, illness, or other personal obligations. Online teaching also allows you the ability to continue teaching in the event of a crisis that prohibits you or your students from meeting on campus.
The University of Maryland supports several teleconferencing and lecture capture solutions to enable you to take your course online. keepteaching.umd.edu is a great resource for the professor that has limited-to-no-experience with teaching an online course, and includes strategies and resources to get you started quickly.
If you've had some experience teaching online, or have already familiarized yourself with the online teaching solutions available through the University of Maryland, this guide is to offer advice and recommendations to help you boost your online-student engagement and be a more effective online educator.
Software
Software
The University of Maryland supports several teleconferencing and lecture capture technologies each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The solution that works best for you will depend on several variables as well as personal preference.
Zoom
Zoom
Zoom is a feature rich teleconferencing solution that is integrated into ELMS. It offers such features as polling, chat, and Q&A to keep your students engaged, as well as breakout rooms for group discussions. Zoom also allows you to share your screen with your students, which allows you to share your PowerPoint presentations and is also great for giving tutorials. Easy and intuitive to use, Zoom is great for online classes as well as for meetings and office hours.
It is also possible to host Zoom meetings with more than 300 attendants, but you will need to contact itsupport@umd.edu ahead of time. At the time of writing this, Zoom does not offer the ability to add captions to lectures/meetings that you have recorded and saved to your course space.
Click to learn more about Zoom.
Panopto
Panopto
Panopto is a lecture capture tool and video content management system that is installed in most lecture halls and classrooms on campus and is integrated into ELMS. While Panopto allows the ability to stream a class in real-time like Zoom, it's real strength is in prerecording lectures and recording in-classroom lectures. Panopto has great integration with PowerPoint, and will index your slides into a Table of Contents that your students can use as a study aid to quickly find the content they need. Panopto also features an online editing tool that allows you to edit your lectures, retime your PowerPoint slides, add in-video quizzes, as well as add additional content such as YouTube videos and webpage links.
Panopto is also a video content management system, which means it is also suited for uploading videos that you wish to share with your students, as well as allows students to upload their own videos to an Assignment folder. Panopto supports importing captions, and Zoom recordings can be uploaded to Panopto to add captions to your Zoom recordings if necessary.
Click to learn more about Panopto.
WebEx
WebEx
WebEx is another teleconferencing solution supported by the University of Maryland, which I only recommended to professors who are already very familiar with using WebEx and do not wish to disrupt their pedagogical workflow.
Hardware
Hardware
If you use a laptop, you likely already have all the necessary peripherals to start teaching online, such as a webcam and microphone. If you're using a desktop computer, then it is less likely that you have these peripherals. You may also want to invest in purchasing a separate webcam and microphone even if your laptop already includes these peripherals as the audio and video quality of online classes is key to student engagement and comprehension.
Webcam
Webcam
The built-in webcams on laptops and iMac computers will work in a pinch, but look at this side-by-side comparison between a built-in camera and an external webcam.
As you can see, the external webcam offers a sharper, brighter, and cleaner image compared to the built-in webcam. While it may seem like a small thing, a low-resolution, noisy video like you get with built-in webcams can be very distracting for most students and makes it easier for them to disengage.
If you're on a budget but want improve your webcam quality, I recommend the Anivia Webcam W8 that is currently available for about $40 on most online retailers. For those willing to make a bigger investment to improve their video quality, the Logitech c920 has become one of the most popular professional-grade webcams, and with a wide field of view, auto-focusing, and automatic light correction, it is the webcam that I recommend, especially as it has come down significantly in price.
Headset
Headset
A good headset offers not only a good, well-placed microphone, but also offers isolation from your microphone and your computer's audio. So for instance, if you're in a meeting with a student and you're using your built-in microphone, it will likely pick-up the audio of your student speaking from your computer speakers, creating an echoing-type feedback that is not only unpleasant to listen to, but can also potentially make it impossible to understand the audio.
The University of Maryland recommends the Sennheiser SC 45 USB CTRL (507084) - Single-Sided Business Headset and Plantronics Blackwire 5210 USB-A Headset. I have not used either headphone, so I can't personally recommend one headset over the other, however, the Platronics Headset at the time of writing this is more widely available than the Sennheiser Headset.
If you're in a pinch, or don't want to spend close to $100 on a headset, the wired earbuds that come with most smartphones will work going into your computer's audio jack. I personally prefer the Apple EarPods.
Microphone
Microphone
There are some drawbacks to using headsets, and you may want to consider using an external microphone. Headsets, while they're better sonically than using a built-in microphone, they do not have as good quality as a dedicated microphone. Headsets, especially the larger they are, can also be a visual distraction for students, and if worn for the entirety of a long lecture, may become uncomfortable. A great option for an external microphone is the Blue Yeti Mic. The Blue Yeti Mic is not only a microphone, but also a preamp, which simply means it's plug-and-play. The Blue Yeti also includes a stand, so you can set it down on your desk and forget about it. Other features include selectable microphone responses, and a headphone jack to prevent the kind of echo-type feedback mentioned earlier.
If you're recording a lecture on campus, several classrooms include wireless lapel microphones and wireless handheld microphones, which are another great option for recording the best audio possible. Make sure to check ahead of time to ensure the classroom you'll be recording in has these options available to you.
Presentation
Presentation
At this point, you've hopefully decided which software best fits your needs, and have figured out what hardware you'll be using. Whether you've decided to use your built-in webcam and microphone, or have gone all out on the best hardware money can buy, there are still some dos-and-don'ts to consider when it comes to the visual and aural presentation of your online teaching to improve student engagement and comprehension.
Audio
Audio
Above all else, when it comes to teaching online lectures, having good audio is absolutely key. Follow these basic guidelines for achieving the best audio possible, regardless of the equipment you decide to use.
Keep the microphone as close to you as possible. The closer a microphone is to the person it is recording, the more it picks up the sound of the person speaking and the less it picks up all other sounds in the room.
Set the audio level to an appropriate volume. This is largely dependent on the software that you use, but if you are able to monitor the audio levels like you can in Panopto, or test them as you can within Zoom, you want the audio levels to be roughly hovering around 2/3rds the status bar while speaking. Also keep in mind that we tend to naturally speak softer when talking normally and louder while giving a presentation or performance. Try to account for this while testing the audio levels.
Be aware of the echo chamber effect. Some rooms, especially larger rooms, uninsulated rooms, and/or unfurnished rooms, can create a lot of echo and reverb that can make it harder for others to understand you. A quick test to see if a room is good for recording is to clap your hands. If you can hear the sound of the clap trail off, the room will likely not be suited for recording audio. If you cannot change your location, hanging curtains or towels around the room will help to dampen the reverberating sound.
Camera Position
Camera Position
The positioning of the camera is something that is very simple to get right, yet very easy to get wrong if overlooked. Depending on the hardware you have available, you may be limited in what you can achieve, but these are the best practices for camera positioning.
Centered, Medium Shot. The ideal composition for online video is for the speaker to be in the center of the shot, and be visible from about the chest to the top of their head. This is called a medium shot. Placing the camera farther from you can make it hard for students to see your face, and placing the camera too close can feel intense for the viewer, and unflattering for the person in-front of the camera.
Face the camera head on. Placing the camera directly in front of you creates the most engaging appearance for online video communication. Placing a camera to your side or above/below you gives the appearance that you are looking away and not engaged in the conversation or lecture.
Look directly into the camera. This can be the hardest advice to follow for some people because it can feel unnatural. We intuitively want to look at the eyes of the person we're talking to during a video call, but you should actually be looking directly at the camera lens. As with the last step, by looking at the screen and not the camera, you can give the appearance that you are looking away.
Lighting
Lighting
Lighting is more important to creating what we perceive as being a pleasing image than many of us realize. I'm not recommending that everyone go out and buy a studio lighting kit, but there are some considerations to account for before recording a lecture.
Have the light facing you when you are facing the camera. If the main source of light in the room you're recording in is coming from a lamp, the sun, or window, you want that light source facing you and not behind you. If it is behind you, you will look darker on camera than your surroundings. In a similar vein, try and avoid being lit by lights that are directly above you or below you, such as your computer screen. These can be very unflattering on camera. To avoid the light from your computer screen being the main light source or casting a bluish light on your face, try to place a lamp near you and lower your screen's brightness settings.
Avoid sharp shadows. Most office and home lights have a level diffusion to them so that everything is more evenly lit and shadows are softer. If you happen to be recording outside or near a window on a sunny day however, you may find that the shadows are so strong that you can't see all of your face. If you are inside and near a window, you can try closing the blinds, or covering the window with curtains. If you are outside, try and find a spot that's in the shade as a place to record.
Location
Location
Many of the considerations for achieving good audio and lighting come down to where you decide to record your lecture from. If you're recording within a classroom on campus, many of these decisions have already been made for you. However, if you choose to, or are required to, record outside of a classroom, here are some additional considerations when choosing a recording location.
Pick a calm environment. Pick a location that you know will be calm and free from distractions, and where you know you won't be distracting others nearby. Recording in your office could be a great idea, but be sure it's at a time when you know you won't be interrupted by colleagues or students. Same goes for recording from home, where you might be distracted by family or pets.
Pick a quiet environment. Similar to the last recommendation, and probably common sense, but be sure to pick an environment that is quiet, and away from nearby areas that may be loud. For instance, if you're recording in your study at home and it is next to your living room, be sure to schedule a time to record when you know that no one will be in the living room or making loud noises within the living room. Also, try to avoid rooms with "white noise" such as loud A/C units or loud computer fans.
Pick a visually appealing backdrop. When considering location, think about what will be behind you on camera. Stay away from a location that looks messy or unclean. Also stay away from anything that might be visually distracting, such as a television that is running in the background. Unless you have no better options, I'd also recommend staying away from a location that offers only a flat-white wall behind you, as they tend to look drab and lifeless on camera. Remember, what you choose to show behind you can communicate a lot about your personality and professionalism.
Consistency. While it may take you some time to develop a routine that works for you and your students for teaching lectures online, once you have developed a routine, stick to it. That includes having the same backdrop, recording at the same time of day, using the same audio and video equipment, etc. Being consistent in your presentation and schedule will subtly create over time an environment for your students that will help put them in the headspace that this is a time for academics, which can lessen the potential for distraction.
Engagement
Engagement
Keeping students engaged and making sure they are retaining the information during online lectures can be one of the trickier tasks of online teaching. Fortunately, many lecture capture and teleconferencing solutions have built-in features that makes it easier for you to engage and interact with your students.
Chat
Chat
One of the easiest ways to engage with your students is to make use of the chat feature built into most teleconferencing softwares. Chat allows for students to actively participate with you and ask questions as they would in a classroom. You can also ask them questions or promote discussions.
Breakout Rooms
Breakout Rooms
Both Zoom and WebEx allow you to create breakout rooms. A breakout room allows you to divide your students into smaller groups where they can discuss and collaborate separate from the rest of the class. This is a great tool to foster communication between students and facilitate group activities.
Polling
Polling
Both Zoom and WebEx offer polling features, which is a way to actively engage your students to test their comprehension of the material, but can also be used as a method for voting and gathering feedback. You can also use polling results as a way to reflect on what is and isn't connecting with your students in your online classes.
In-Video Quizzing
In-Video Quizzing
Much of what we've discussed so far applies to synchronous teaching, but if you plan to prerecord your lectures, or make your synchronous lectures available for later viewing with Panopto, you can use in-video quizzes to again actively engage the students. In-video quizzes stops the playback of the lecture to make the student answer at least one question. They can also be setup to prevent the student from advancing the lecture until they've answered a question correctly. At the time of writing this, it is unclear if In-Video Quizzing using Panopto can be counted towards a student's grade via ELMS, however, since this feature was available in Kaltura, it will most likely be implemented within Panopto before our contract with Kaltura has expired.
Beyond the Lecture
Beyond the Lecture
Online teaching is a vast subject, and there is so much that a professor has available to them to engage students and teach online that goes beyond the scope of this guide. Hopefully you now have more confidence with what you can do, and how to most effectively use the technology to hold online lectures. If you'd like to continue learning more about online teaching, I recommend the following articles for starters.
Engaging Students in Online Courses: Adding Experiential to Asynchrony
I hope this guide has helped give you some ideas and inspired you going forward with online teaching. If you need any additional resources or technical recommendations that are A/V related, please feel free to email Brian Crawford at bcrawfo2@umd.edu
Thanks!
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