Jenae Cohn, Academic Technology Specialist for PWR, Stanford University
Beth Seltzer, Academic Technology Specialist for Introductory Studies, Stanford University
Edited for McNeese faculty members: Dr. Wendi Prater, Director of eLearning, McNeese State University
A Few Troubleshooting Tips:
- If your microphone is not working, use a phone number to connect. You can use your phone as the microphone and audio source for your call rather than your computer’s built-in microphone if necessary.
- If your Internet connection is slow or lagging, consider temporarily turning off your video stream and only maintaining the audio stream. Sometimes, running the web camera on your computer will use up the Internet’s bandwidth in a way that might make communication challenging. Turning off the video should improve communication quality and consistency.
- If you have earbuds or a headphone set, wear them! Wearing earbuds or headphones will reduce the amount of noise that your computer will pick up during your quality, which will make it easier for your students to hear you. Similarly, you may want to advise your students to wear earbuds or headphones during the call.
- Advise students to mute their microphones if they are not speaking and unmute the microphones when they wish to speak. Students may be joining web conferencing calls from all kinds of different locations, many of which may create background noise that could be distracting. Encourage students to mute themselves if they’re not speaking to minimize unnecessary or distracting background noise. Using the “raise hand” feature or simply seeing the microphone unmuted will give the group a visual cue for when a student wishes to speak.
- Check the “chat” space for student questions and contributions. Some students may not have working microphones and, therefore, may be unable to contribute via voice. The chat room is a good place for students to contribute, ask questions, and be involved.
