Friendly reminder to not require students to turn their cameras or even mics on. The chat is your friend and if done right, I find it to be far more engaging and the sessions flow better. Tips below.

Start the course by asking students to customize their settings on the platform with a picture, their preferred name, and preferred pronouns. You could even have them put in where they are tuning in from to learn more about them.

In my experience, students will defer to the chat, so just accept it and encourage them to use it during your first session.

Figure out the interactions available in your platform and test them out with the students so they know where to find them and how you want to use them.

Get in a rhythm for sessions. I start mine with any questions they have about material that was provided or upcoming assignments. I then move onto the “content” I planned to deliver. In my case, sessions are group office hours. End sessions with what is coming up in the course

Even though I find people can type faster than they might raise their hand to ask a question, still expect lag times in responses. Ask a question and try to find creative ways to pause without silence that are not distracting.

I was at a workshop where they played music for longer pauses and that was really helpful. It indicated a mini work period to address the task or question asked. I would only recommend this for breaks that are 2 plus minutes.

When students type a question or comment, acknowledge them by name and read their question or paraphrase it with your answer. I always thank them for sharing as a way to encourage more participation.

I have become really good at reading questions while teaching and integrating them into my sessions, but it takes practice. So practice this summer with colleagues or students so that you are ready for this new skill.

Oh and don’t make sessions mandatory. Encourage attendance and record sessions. Outline at the start of term how students can participate even with the recording on their own time.

Good luck and have fun with it. I kinda love online teaching like this now and can’t imagine it any other way!!