This article is based on Zoom’s blog post 4 New Zoom Features Educators Can Use to Enhance Virtual Teaching & Learning, written by Tain Barzso.
Zoom have recently introduced 3 features that can help you easily manage your online sessions and enhance the teaching and learning experience. The features vary from creating virtual seating charts with video ordering to better support students who need sign language and better facilitate group presentation during an online session.
Pro tip: Make sure that you are using the latest version of the Zoom desktop client, if you are unable to see these features. See: How do I update the Zoom desktop client to the latest version?
1. Better facilitate group presentations with multi-spotlight
What does the feature do?
The Spotlight feature allows the host to show up to 9 video tiles in front of the whole class. Spotlight video puts a user as the primary active speaker for all participants in the meeting and cloud recordings.
How do I enable it in Zoom?
There is no setting for this feature. To spotlight, you need at least 3 participants in the meeting with their video on and can only be done by the host.
On the right-hand corner of a video tile, click the three dots and choose Spotlight from the dropdown menu.
When can I use it?
This feature is useful when, after a breakout session, you want the entire class to be able to easily see the group of students who are presenting their work.
2. Better support students who need sign language
What does the feature do?
Pin screen allows you to disable active speaker view and only view a specific speaker. It allows you and your students to create custom views of webcams and pin up to 9 video tiles that you will see during the meeting. Creating a custom view with 9 pinned webcams is only personal to you and your students respectively – making a custom view of webcams as a host doesn’t affect other participants’ choices.
How do I enable it in Zoom?
There is no setting for this feature. On the right-hand corner of a video tile, click the three dots and choose Pin from the dropdown menu.
When can I use it?
This feature is particularly useful for students who need the sign language, so they can pin the webcam of their sign language interpreter. As noted above, other participants won’t know whose video tile has been pinned, therefore they won’t know whether there are students who need a sign language interpreter.
3. Reorder student webcams to create a virtual seating chart
What does the feature do?
When using the Gallery view to display a grid with the student webcams, you can rearrange the video tiles and change the order in which students appear in the grid.
How do I enable it in Zoom?
There is no setting for this feature. Click on a video tile during the meeting and drag it to your preferred position (e.g. at the very beginning of the grid). Repeat for as many video tiles as necessary.
As a host, you can, the order you choose becomes fixed, so it won’t change if new students enter the meeting.
When can I use it?
This feature is useful for “going around the room” activities or for putting students in a virtual group because they need to present their work in front of the class.