How to Teach Online Interactive Zoom Classes to the 50+ Population – COMMENTS

Academy Connection ForumCategory: Teaching on ZoomHow to Teach Online Interactive Zoom Classes to the 50+ Population – COMMENTS
Corey Stiles asked 4 years ago

What a great presentation to get us all a bit more familiar with using Zoom for our interactive classes for our 50+ students! What was your biggest take away from Karen’s presentation?

Corey Stiles replied 4 years ago

I love that Karen invites her students to arrive early and stay a few minutes late so they can socialize….just like they would do in a face to face class. I also loved hearing that many of her students are already using Zoom so it’s familiar for them. That’s half the battle! The mantra: Cue More-Model Less is a good, simple reminder!

Karen Langevin Staff replied 4 years ago

Hey all! It was such a pleasure to see you all on the Zoom and share with you what I have learned since March in teaching online interactive classes using Zoom. I also want to thank you for sharing your knowledge and questions in the Zoom chat. I am copying here the chat conversations with some answers.
Pinning Your Video
– Only the host or co-host can pin or spotlight
– If you want to see the other students, select “Gallery View”
Payments
– How do you take payments into your bank account? Venmo? Zelle?
– Interac e-transfer in Canada. Payment in US can be Zelle, paypal or venmo
– It’s important to check with your bank. My bank, Bellco, uses Zelle, but NOT for business accounts, so I use Stripe (via Acuity Scheduling) or Square or the old fashioned way: check/cash
Recording Your Zoom Classes
– Is the recording on a zoom link? Yes and you should add a password to the link before sending it to your students. There’s also an option to save the recording on your computer but it will be too large to send over gmail.
– Cloud recording is automatically enabled for all Zoom paid subscribers. When you record a meeting and choose Record to the Cloud, the video, audio, and chat text are recorded in the Zoom cloud. The recording files can be downloaded to a computer or streamed from a browser. Zoom also offers local recording, which saves the recording files to your computer. By default, local recordings are saved to your documents folder. Cloud recordings can be found on the Recording page of your Zoom web portal. Learn more about locating your recording.
– For more details on Zoom, visit https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us
Lighting
– light ring works well if you are up close to the camera only I use a Diva Ring ($250) and I’m about 8-10 ft away from it when I record. Amazon has lighting kits for under $40
– For the Ring Light, which is best – do you use a small tripod (desk type) or a full size tripod (off the floor)? Mine is on the floor about 6 feet in height total.
– I’ve heard tissue paper over the ring light can cut the glasses glare.
– Use softbox lighting kit about $70 and really gives great light without shadows
Video Camera
– please talk about video camera options – I don’t have a fancy cellphone
– My Logitec webcam was $50 and so much better than laptop camera There are many varieties and prices for the Logitec cameras. Check Amazon.
– I just bought a webcam. It was about $40 and works very well.
– I use a web cam. I clip it to top of my computer , above the computer camera. Logitech HD 1080.
– Is back camera the selfie camera??
– Before investing, try the built-in camera on your laptop or smart phone and ask your “pilot” students or friends if they see you clearly
Mic and Earbuds
– What about background noise? I have my husband working from home and son home
– if you use earbud mic it cuts out all the background noise.
– I use Anker earbud mics
– tried mic pak and it was too cumbersome
– I’ve heard “Hey Mike” works very well as a wireless fitness Mike It has it’s own website. Not Amazon, etc.
– I use a Comica mic pac
Technology Setup
– For your setup – is your phone recording & laptop just showing the gallery? If your looking at your phone – does it appear you are not looking at the video? Yes, my phone is recording and it’s on a tripod just above my TV screen where I see my students in “Gallery”. Yes, I can see myself teaching on my phone and in a small box on Gallery View
– What connection is needed from iPhone to record ? A high speed internet connection
– Could you use a laptop instead of the TV? Yes, but your students will appear much smaller than on a TV screen. If you have 4 – 6 students, a laptop monitor will be fine.
– A hard wire (old school) going from modem to computer increases internet stability. That’s correct. Also, turn off other devices that may be using the bandwidth.
Suggestions for encouraging senior students that just don’t want to even try online yoga?
– Call the person a few days before the class, and talk them through the connection steps
– Have a one-on-one phone conversation with the student
– If someone else in their home is comfortable with the technology, perhaps they could help them out
Insurance
– I found out that my insurance does not cover classed that are free on Facebook or YouTube, it has to be a live or streaming class, or one where they need a password or link to access the video to be covered for liability.
Other Platforms
– Acuity Scheduling is about $19/month
– We’ll do another call with other platforms like Acquity,Vimeo, FB
Where do we find the forum?
– Under Teacher resources
– Password “Connection”