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Zoom

The COVID-19 pandemic brought Zoom to center stage as the tool for synchronous classes, but even when you are teaching in person, Zoom can help enhance your class. You can host online discussion sections at times when students may need to be home for reasons such as childcare. Zoom allows you to bring guest lecturers into your classroom from all over the globe. You can even schedule recurring “coffee hours” where students can drop in and chat in a more informal way either with each other or instructional staff.

Zoom in Canvas

We have integrated Harvard’s Zoom service into Canvas for ease of scheduling. Synchronous online class sessions, where everyone joins a Zoom meeting at a scheduled time, is one way to create engagement when students are remote, but Zoom can also be used to support other teaching and learning scenarios. Zoom can be used on laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, and even desk phones, giving students many ways to access the class session.

For more information about Zoom in Canvas, contact us at coursesites@hds.harvard.edu, or visit the HUIT’s In-depth Guide: using Zoom to teach online class sessions.

Using Zoom for Synchronous Meetings

You may have an occasion where you or a student cannot come to campus. In these cases, you can plan to hold your regular class meetings in Zoom. To begin, you will need to schedule a Zoom meeting in your Canvas course site. Try to have some time at the beginning of class as well for a “check-in.” Make the most of the time you can see and hear each other in real time.

We do not advise using this time to show movies or give a long lecture without student interaction. Movies can be assigned for viewing outside of class and lectures can be pre-recorded. Use your Zoom time to engage with students.

Don’t host alone! By default everyone with a “teaching staff” role in Canvas (faculty, TFs, Course Support Staff) are added as alternate hosts to your meeting. Make students co-hosts, to allow them to present in class.

You may wish to record your class meetings for students to review later. Harvard has created Rules and Best Practices for the Recording of Classroom Sessions Conducted via Zoom. You should review this before you begin.

For students, Harvard has created a Quick Start: Learning Remotely for Students with Zoom.

Other Zoom Resources