Collaborate

• Provide advice to enable participants to be able to take part in the session, including the link, advice on hardware and software (including browser) etc.
• Follow the advice for Teaching Resources for any materials you will share.
• As with a lecture, share details/notes at least 24hrs ahead.
• At the start of the session, check that your audio and microphone work and help students do the same, so you know they can participate; let them know what to do if they have technical difficulties during the session.
• For Q&A during a session, allow extra time for students to compose questions and the option of using the microphone or typing into the chat pane.

Recorded sessions

• Recording a session can make it more accessible, for those who can attend (to review) and those who could not.
• Let students know the session will be recorded so they can make arrangements if present (e.g. turn off their camera).
• Offer an opportunity to ask questions during the session but also after the recording has finished.
• Share the recording with opportunity to ask questions later (especially for those who cannot be in the live session). The chat pane can be downloaded from the recording but you will need to take a screenshot of the whiteboard if used. ​​​​​If you need to preserve the chat in a session that was not recorded, or from a breakout room, then this would need to be copied and pasted before closing the room.
• Captions: Auto-captions are available to use in recorded Collaborate sessions created in Learn or Moodle. There are step by step instructions on how to enable, access and edit captions on your Collaborate recordings. For Collaborate sessions not created in Learn or Moodle, captions need to be applied in the same way recommended for other video material.

Student presentations

• If students are to present, especially if assessed, set up a separate session ahead to give them an opportunity to practice and receive formative feedback.
• If possible, give students the opportunity to pre-record their presentation ahead of time (useful for those with unreliable networks.) 

• Find a quiet location to take part in the session.
• Ask everyone who is not speaking at the time to mute their microphone.
• Rather than rely on the integral computer microphone, use an external microphone or headset to pick up your voice rather than background sounds.
• Position the microphone below you mouth so that it does not pick up the sound of your breathing, and does not obscure your mouth (for anyone lip reading).

• A range of good quality microphones to suit your needs, recording location and environment can be borrowed from the Learning Spaces Technology team; there is also guidance on how to choose a microphone.

• Have a plain background behind your head.
• Avoid sitting in front of a window as it casts your face into shadow and your expression and mouth cannot be seen (by anyone lip reading).
• Face the camera and do not move your hands in front of your mouth.