Teaching Virtually: Home Setup, Zoom, and Canvas


From setting up virtual classrooms to leveraging interactive features, Kellogg instructors can seamlessly connect with their students, fostering a collaborative and inclusive online learning environment. 

Teaching remotely from home requires advanced preparation to ensure everything goes smoothly. You will want to consider three components of your home classroom - Internet speed, environment, and equipment. 

Internet Speed

  • Ensure your internet upload speed is fast enough - Your upload speed is the primary constraint as you will be sending your content, audio, and video. Most home internet services market their download speed, which is what you consume watching Netflix or listening to Spotify. It is frequently much higher than the upload speed.  
  • We recommended 4 Mbps minimum up/down speed (zoom minimum is 1.5 Mbps, but that can result in choppy video and audio) 
  • To test your speed:
    • Go to Google.com
    • Search for "internet speed"
    • Click Run Speed Test

  • If you see less than 4.0 Mbps upload, please contact your Internet Service Provider (eg Comcast, ATT&T, etc) to see what options are available to you.

Equipment

For teaching from home, you will want to ensure that you have the right components to engage effectively with your students via Zoom. 

  • Computer - a relatively new laptop or desktop computer to present content and manage your Zoom session.
  • Monitor(s) - A second monitor to see the gallery of students. You could also use a desktop and laptop as two monitors if you have both.
  • Audio - A microphone or headset for improved audio. Laptop or desktop speakers are fine for hearing discussions.
  • Webcam - An external webcam and tripod giving you flexibility in camera placement.

Recommended Hardware

See recommended hardware for teaching/meeting online in this article

Home Setup

Florian Zettelmeyer provides advice and a detailed walkthrough (PDF) on how to arrange your equipment in your home setup.

Environment

Lighting, acoustics, and backgrounds contribute significantly to the outbound quality of your video call - identify a suitable location that accommodates for these. Here are some additional tips and tricks

  • Camera placement:
    • Your camera should be level with your face, and at a distance that captures your head and shoulders. – Use the “rule of thirds” to frame yourself appropriately.
    • If you are using your laptop camera, raising the laptop will improve the angle. (for example, by placing it on some books)
  • Play with the lighting options you have. In most cases, light coming from behind the camera works best.
  • Consider a headset for more consistent audio.
  • Don't forget to test your internet connection from this location. If the speed is too slow, consider running an Ethernet cable temporarily from your modem to the computer, or upgrading your home router.

You will be using Canvas and Zoom to teach remotely.

Canvas is for your course material, as usual, and as the starting point for your students to find your online sessions.

Zoom is the conferencing tool for your class sessions and is integrated into your Canvas course site. You can present your content, see your students, interact with them live, and they can see you.

IMPORTANT: Do Not create a new Zoom account with your Kellogg email address. Sign in with the Single Sign-On (SSO) process. This ensures you will have a fully featured Zoom account without a 40 minute meeting limit (more details) .

Also review our article on Setting Up Secure Zoom Meetings (click here)

Contents:

Get Ready to Teach Virtually

    • Download the Canvas app for your phone (iPhone or Android). You can use this for announcements if your computer or internet becomes unavailable. If you are not familiar with Canvas, help is available here or through the Course Support Team.
  • Install and test the Zoom app
      • Download the Zoom App from https://northwestern.zoom.us/download
      • Install the Zoom app
      • Sign in
        • Click or tap on Sign in with SSO
        • Enter Northwestern for the company domain & click/tap Continue
        • If prompted, log in with your NetID & password
        • If prompted, select to use Zoom Meetings to open; optionally, you may select Remember my choice for zoommtnglinks.
      • Close the Zoom app
      • Test your Zoom connection to ensure that your audio, video, and internet connection are working: https://zoom.us/test.

Teach Virtually from Home

Before you teach your class from home use this Preparing to Teach from Home guide to review and set up your equipment and environment.

Use this Teaching From Home Checklist to prepare for each class session. It covers what you can do 30 minutes before, as well as troubleshooting instructions if things are not working. Have a "Plan B" for connecting to your class session if your laptop or internet connection fails - write down the phone number and meeting ID before class starts so you can call back in if necessary.

Best Practices

    • Set up your equipment in advance of class
      • Turn on your computer at least 30 minutes before the session - this allows CPU/disk-intensive programs that run at startup such as anti-virus time to finish before you teach.
      • Test before you join the meeting/session - click the option to test each time to make sure you've got good audio & video
      • You can use your phone for audio - both listening and speaking - if that gives you better sound quality than your computer.
      • Ensure you have enough internet bandwidth - best practice is not to have other high-impact traffic (eg Netflix) using your internet connection while using Zoom. Shut down file-sharing apps such as Dropbox, Box, iCloud, and Google Drive before you start the class.
      •  
    • Set up your Zoom windows
    • For one monitor,  you can use side-by-side Presentation for your materials and Gallery to see your students.
    • To arrange your screen this way:
      • Select Side-by-side View from the top menu
      • Select Gallery View from the top menu
      • Drag the small bar between the windows to resize them
      • More details available from Zoom
    • With multiple monitors, you will have more flexibility to see:
      • Presenter view of your content or other notes
      • Your own video
      • Participant view 
      • Chat
    • Florian Zettelmeyer provides a guide to setting up your home teaching space in Surviving Teaching from Home (PDF).

Using Additional Features in Zoom

Once you have started the class session in Zoom these areas will be available to you, controlled by the menu on the bottom.

Your screen may be different - this is a sample with most features turned on.

 

The Zoom menu will appear at the bottom of your screen. You do not need to use all the features for your class.

Recommended Hardware

For teaching at home, having a good microphone, a high quality web camera that can be positioned appropriately to capture the right angle, and a separate screen to see the students can be useful. If your current accessories or built-in devices are not adequate, we recommend purchasing devices with the specifications below.
Note: Pricing and availability of these recommended items may change.

For improved audio:

Headset:

Wired, noise-canceling microphone, USB 2.0/3.0 or 3.5mm jack.

Desktop Mic:

Omnidirectional, plug-and-play USB connector.

For improved video:

Webcam:

1080p resolution, built-in microphone.

Monitor:

1920x1080 minimun resolution, HDMI/USB-C or other required input.

Computer Options:

See computer options for Faculty and Staff in this article.

Note: Given the high demand for these types of devices, product availability will continue to change. Please use the recommended hardware specifications located under each product type to find similar devices for purchase should any of the items listed go out of stock.

Please work with your department manager to place orders for you.

Other Resources

Tips on Teaching Virtually:
https://canvas.northwestern.edu/courses/83050/pages/teaching-virtually

Surviving Teaching From Home:
https://canvas.northwestern.edu/courses/83050/files/8447261/download?wrap=1

Practices for Online Teaching with Zoom:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-practices-online-teaching-zoom-mohanbir-sawhney/

What's Your Tech Backup Plan for Live Online Teaching?:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-your-tech-backup-plan-live-online-teaching-joel-shapiro/

Teaching Virtually From a Hub Classroom:
https://kiskellogg.service-now.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0010276

Recording and Posting Short Videos Using Panopto:
https://kiskellogg.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_article&sys_id=f2a9ee6cdbfb40109d9a36be3b9619b0

Installing and Using the Zoom for Outlook Add-In:
https://kiskellogg.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_article&sys_id=fa2fdcd8dbd45c509d9a36be3b96191f

Putting Remote Students into Separate Rooms

Within your course in Canvas, take the following steps to create breakout rooms in Zoom:

 

Teaching Virtually FAQ:

 

Instructor Experience

Q: How do I see my students in the virtual classroom?
A: You need to enable Gallery view, which will let you see up to 49 participants in a grid pattern. Set it up in your Zoom client settings: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360000005883-Displaying-participants-in-gallery-view

Once it is enabled, you will see the button for Gallery view in the upper right corner of your Zoom screen. Click it and you will see this:


Q: How do I keep everyone out except my students in each of my sessions?
A: Make sure that you and your students are signing into Zoom using the Single Sign On (SSO) option. Detailed instructions are included in this Knowledge Base article to avoid being "zoombombed": https://kiskellogg.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_article&sys_id=3c165d74db845810bd220793e296198d

Q. How do I prevent the gallery view and speaker view from swapping out on my screen?
A. Spotlight your video. You can still view all students in gallery mode, but your students will only see your video by default. They can still choose to swap your video with your teaching content, and or show other students.

Q: How do I know if a student raises their hand?
A: The Managing Participants window will move students’ names to the top who have “raised” their hand. You need to keep this window open or monitor it periodically. Your gallery view of students' video will also display a blue hand, but it will appear smaller as more students enter the session.

Q: Can I set an audio cue in Zoom to signal when a student raises their hand in the chat?
A: There is currently no audio option for this feature. When a student raises their hand, they will jump up to the top of the Manage Participants list. A blue hand also appears on their video feed, but that video does not change places. More details on the "raise hand" function can be found here:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205566129-Raise-Hand-In-Webinar#h_2a516377-40e6-4d91-a1fd-db71c36abea

Q: How do I create a personal meeting room for office hours?
A: We recommend you setup your office hours the same way you set up your class sessions, except enable the Waiting Room. This gives you control to admit one person at a time into your Zoom session, and others are kept in a waiting room. You can remove a student when done and admit the next person. Note: Your Zoom personal meeting room should not be used for office hours, as the login URL for your personal room remains the same and can be joined at any time by a previous participant.

Q: When I create non-class meetings, should I use my personal ID?
A: You should use your personal ID for non-class related meetings. For class sessions, allow Zoom to generate a unique meeting instance for each class session.

Q: I got disconnected from Zoom and a student was randomly assigned as host - how do I prevent this from happening?
A: If there is only a single host and no co-host, Zoom will randomly assign a host when the host is disconnected from the meeting. Best practice is to assign your TA or VCM as a co-host. If your TA or VCM is the host of the meeting, they should assign you as a co-host.

 

Breakout Rooms

Q: How can I make and manage breakout rooms?
A: Breakout rooms can be preassigned per session, done the most efficiently by going to http://northwestern.zoom.us and editing the respective Zoom session to enable Breakout room assignment. Detailed instructions are here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360032752671-Pre-assigning-participants-to-breakout-rooms#h_f1d7287d-ade8-4b73-b0b9-37365faecf55

Related: Using breakout rooms during a Zoom session: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206476313-Managing-Breakout-Rooms

Q: Can I set up breakout rooms in advance of my meeting without uploading students and groups?
A: All of your meetings can have the breakout rooms feature, and you can pre-assign anytime (by editing the same meeting in http://northwestern.zoom.us). You can create your group names first and edit it later to include the students, or move students into these pre-defined groups during your class session.

Q. Can I create breakout group names and edit later with students?
A. All of your meetings can have the breakout rooms feature, and you can pre-assign anytime (by editing the same meeting in http://northwestern.zoom.us). You can create your group names first and edit it later to include the students, or move students into these pre-defined groups during your class session.

 

Student Experience

Q: Have students received instructions on learning Zoom before the spring quarter begins?
A: Students received a communication on 3/25 which refers them to the ZOOM FAQ resource page (https://kiskellogg.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_article&sys_id=e8debcd21be380107794a8292a4bcb68). They have also been instructed to conduct a Zoom test before classes start.

Q. Do I need to get student’s permission that I’m recording a session?
A. No. However, you must include provided verbiage at https://www.northwestern.edu/provost/policies/recording-class.html on your syllabus and Canvas stating a session is getting recorded and will be deleted after the quarter is over. Students should not be allowed to download. Please provide a password on your recordings.

Q: If a student calls into a Zoom meeting (lecture) instead of logging in with their netID, and a professor wants to run preset breakout rooms, can that student still get added to the breakout room?
A: Unfortunately, no. We recommend that faculty tell students to sign in via Canvas using their laptop/computer.

Q: Can students download Zoom recordings? If so, can we disable this?
A: You can disable them by each video, but not globally. Please review how to disable downloading on each individual video through the Prevent Recording Download section of this instruction page: https://services.northwestern.edu/TDClient/30/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=1844

 

Technical

Q: What are the minimum system requirements my students and I need to connect virtually?
A: We recommend using a Windows 10 or MacOS X  10.12 computer running on a 3 year-old computer or newer. Your internet speed should be at least 4 mbps upload for instructors to successfully conduct classes via Zoom. Zoom has lower requirements, but we have found these can lead to choppy audio and video.

Q: I tested my audio and video in Zoom and it's not great - what should I do?
A: Contact KIS for assistance - email us at kis@kellogg.northwestern.edu, or call us at 847-467-2200.

Q: Is the phone number to connect to a session the same all the time and across classes?
A: Each Zoom session has unique login a unique phone number, and cannot be used across classes. See Zoom’s instructions for joining a meeting by phone: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362663-Joining-a-meeting-by-phone

Q: Do you have a lightboard capability at Kellogg?
A: We do not. However, we have a limited number of Cisco WebEx Boards and a Microsoft Surface Hub that could be available on a first come/first serve basis.

Q: Can KIS remotely connect to my computer if I have issues?
A: Yes. As long as your computer is connected to the internet, we will be able to remote into your machine to help. Call us at 847-467-2100 and we will walk you through the process so we can assist you.

Q: Can I log into more than one computer with my Northwestern Zoom account?
A: You can log into one computer, tablet, and phone at a time with your Northwestern Zoom account. More info is available on the Zoom website

Article overview

  • Before Class
  • Starting Zoom Session for Class

Before Class

1. Download Zoom and Test

  • Download the Zoom App from https://northwestern.zoom.us/download
  • Test your Zoom connection to ensure that your audio, video, and internet connection are working: https://zoom.us/test 
  • View your video quality; check for effective lighting on your face (e.g., no sun-filled window behind you)

2. Set up a class session in Zoom via Canvas

  1. Go to https://canvas.northwestern.edu
  2. Navigate to your course
  3. Click Zoom in the left navigation menu
  4. Click Schedule a New Meeting

 

  1. Enter meeting details as shown below

 

  1. Review your scheduled sessions: Click on Zoom in the left nav in Canvas - you should see all scheduled class sessions in Zoom

3. Tell your students that class sessions are in Zoom

  • All Zoom sessions will be automatically added to your Canvas course calendar and also listed under To Do:

  • Post an Announcement in your Canvas course site notifying students you are using Zoom for your class session.
  • Students should go to the Zoom link in the left nav of Canvas, find the correct class session, and click Join.

Starting Zoom Session for Class

  1. Open your Canvas Course site
  2. Click on Zoom in the left nav
  3. Locate your class session and click Start
  4. You may be prompted to allow usage of Zoom with Canvas - click Authorize
  5. Zoom will launch - click Open zoom.us app, or install it if prompted (first time only)

 

  1. Click Join with Computer Audio - you will now be in the meeting as the host

 

  1. Share your slides: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362153-Sharing-your-screen
  2. Managing the class during the session:
  3. Additional features available in Zoom: