Online Video Conferencing Classroom Management Tips

Things to Consider

  • Deliver classes in locations where Internet connection is strong and household disturbances from family, pets, land lines, external noise, etc. don’t occur.
  • Avoid doing other work during active class sessions.
  • Establish ground rules and guidelines for videoconferencing etiquette.
    • Use of chat room
    • Don’t talk over other students
    • Mute mics to avoid background noise until ready to talk
  • Make materials and handouts available online and accessible to students.
  • Be aware of body language that could be lost in videoconferencing classrooms.
  • Getting Your Students Involved
  • Engage Students, Encourage Dialog, Establish Rapport and Promote Interactivity
    • Remote students may have difficulty staying engaged, if the lecturer is not engaged, tense or bored. Make the session as energetic and interactive as possible.
  • Try not to think of yourself as being on camera, just behave and talk naturally.
  • Assume that the remote students can see and hear everything
  • Maintain Eye Contact so students feel engaged and not just watching a video
  • Keep Movement to a minimum as big gestures can be distracting
  • Sit up straight, don’t lean back and avoid reading excessively
    • It shows off the top of your head.
    • Be aware of the camera range so students can see you
    • Minimize distractions such as tapping, clicking a pen, fixing your hair etc.
    • Eliminate Background Noise
  • Try to relax, act natural and teach as you would if they were F2F
  • Speaking
    • Speak clearly in your normal voice and enunciate clearly.
    • Talk naturally, using inflection.
    • Pause when you expect a response from the remote site.
  • Repeat questions if necessary, and wait for students to respond
  • Clothing
    • Solid colors or muted patterns, in dark or neutral colors.
    • Blue is the best color. Dark or neutral colors, earth tones and pastels also work well.
    • Subtle jewelry.
  • Avoid on camera:
    • Busy patterns. Plaids, pinstripes, tweeds, checks, prints and glittery or reflective fabric.
    • All white or a strong black/white contrast.
    • Reds and blacks. They tend to “bleed” on the screen.
    • Dangly, shiny jewelry or accessories can cause glare.
  • Lighting
    • Be careful of overhead and background lighting
    • Be careful of too much or too little lighting
    • Be aware of any glare that comes through the camera