Refer to the Hyflex Technology page for information and images of the types of technology that may be available in your classroom, including microphones, annotation monitors, virtual whiteboards, document cameras, and Kaptivo whiteboard cameras.
- What is the microphone setup in most classrooms?
Most classrooms will have a USB microphone (either a tabletop microphone or a webcam with a microphone) at the podium. In larger lecture halls and classrooms, speakers and instructor-worn microphones are available to ensure students in the room and attending remotely can hear clearly. For these rooms, a personal earpiece microphone can be requested through Classroom Support. Tabletop and webcam microphones will be on by default, but you may need to turn on instructor-worn microphones.
- What is the audio like for my Zoom students? Can they hear me? Can I hear them?
Most classrooms will have a USB microphone (either a tabletop microphone or integrated into a webcam) at the podium. Selecting this microphone as the microphone in Zoom will allow your remote students to hear you during your lessons. Moving or facing away from the podium may cause you to sound distant to your students in Zoom, and this may result in them not understanding you. Some large classrooms are equipped with a lapel microphone that can be worn and selected in Zoom so that all students are able to hear you even if you move from the podium. Personal earpiece microphones can be requested through Classroom Support for some of these large classrooms well.
Remote students that unmute themselves in Zoom will be heard over the classroom speakers. Be sure that the speakers on the computer are not muted and are turned up in volume so that you can hear their questions and comments. Audio volume controls may also exist on the touchscreen panel or other controls for the classroom’s technology.
- Where do students need to be logged in to be considered authenticated users?
Students will need to be logged in to the Zoom desktop app with their Gatorlink using the “Log in via SSO” button and entering “ufl” as the domain, or they need to be logged into Zoom at https://ufl.zoom.us when joining a meeting from a web link that requires authenticated UF participants.
- What about the sound delay for face-to-face students using a laptop?
Face-to-face students that connect to the Zoom meeting through a laptop should have their microphone and their speakers muted so that there is no interference with the sound from the instructor’s microphone. Instructors in large auditoriums should consider using the lapel microphone and the in-class sound system to amplify their voice if face-to-face students are not able to hear clearly.
- How is the audio quality of in-class questions for students via Zoom? And vice-versa?
It is unlikely that students on Zoom will be able to clearly hear the questions that face-to-face students ask. Before answering any question that is asked by a face-to-face student or through the Zoom chat, the instructor should repeat the question so that all audiences have the same context. Students on Zoom that unmute and ask a question will likely be heard by others on Zoom and via the classroom speakers if the computer speakers are not muted.
- Can I bring my own device/Mac?
Yes, you can bring your own device, but doing so may complicate the setup and add to the number of devices that you must manage during class, so consider this option carefully. To have access to the classroom camera and microphone so that remote students can see and hear you, you will need to log into the podium computer and join the Zoom meeting there. If you want to present content from your own device to both audiences, you then need to also log into the Zoom meeting from your own device and share that device’s screen. In effect, you will need to join the Zoom meeting from two different computers and make sure that microphone and speakers are muted on your own computer to prevent feedback.
- I pace when I teach; will that be a problem?
In classrooms equipped with only a tabletop microphone or desktop webcam, pacing or being distant from the podium will make your audio volume uneven or inaudible for the students attending via Zoom. Larger classrooms may have a lapel microphone that can be worn on your body so that you can be heard no matter where you stand or face, and this microphone will need to be selected as the microphone in your Zoom meeting as well.
- Will students be able to hear their face-to-face peers?
Face to face students will be able to hear their in-person peers, though social distancing requirements will make small group discussions more difficult as students will need to remain separated and may need to speak louder than usual to be heard by their peers. Remote students are unlikely to hear what is said by face-to-face students unless they are close to the podium microphone, speak loudly, or attend the Zoom session on their own device and unmute themselves. If in-person students bring their own device, join the Zoom session, and unmute themselves, the classroom speakers will need to be muted to prevent feedback. Otherwise. if a face-to-face student asks a question, the instructor should repeat the question so that those attending via Zoom have context for the answer that is given.
- Can I join breakout rooms as an instructor to answer questions and monitor progress? If I do so, will my face-to-face students be able to hear what is being said in the breakout rooms?
If you join breakout rooms as a meeting host from the podium computer, then the participants in the breakout room will be heard by face to face students over the classroom speakers. If you wish to have a conversation with students in a breakout room without in-person students being able to hear, then you may need to bring a set of headphones that you can plug into the podium computer.