Faculty who plan to use synchronous sessions with their students can make use of these resources.

Considerations for hosting synchronous sessions

  • because of limited bandwidth and constraints on technical support for live sessions, faculty should consider asynchronous alternatives whenever possible
  • faculty should let students know how they can be contacted if the students experience technical difficulties
  • faculty should join the session about 10 minutes before the call starts to make sure that the software is working and seek assistance if they have issues connecting
  • faculty can contact Helpline for assistance and direct students with technical issues to do the same
  • before recording any sessions, faculty need to inform students that they will be recorded and obtain their consent
  • be familiar with methods of securing a call to prevent harassment and vandalism from intruders 
  • it may be useful to share (and follow!) these tips for videoconference etiquette

Google Meet

Google Meet troubleshooting basics

  • No sound on your end → Laptop or device audio muted
  • Cannot be heard → No microphone; microphone not working
  • Audio quality poor → Wrong microphone selected
  • Your audio lags for other students → Connection slow, stop your video feed to improve the connection
  • Echo on call/feedback loop → Multiple sources of audio in one location, not wearing earphones; presenter needs to mute
  • Fuzzy dark video → Wrong camera selected; laptop closed (if docked); laptop camera slide cover closed