Welcome to more engagement and fun in your Zoom sessions!

Zoom can be a simple tool to get started with video conferencing, but it’s also feature-rich enough to orchestrate some complex interactions. The purpose of this book is to provide sample activities that leverage Zoom’s features and demonstrate how they can work in concert to support active learning in the virtual classroom. With that in mind, we’ll be adding new activities as we discover them, so please check back when you need some Zoom inspiration.

A word of empathy…

Some of these activities require students to switch between apps or use Zoom features that they may have never used before. Therefore, keeping your students’ perspective in mind will give you the best opportunity for a worthwhile experience. For example, when students only have a smartphone to attend Zoom meetings, they will have more difficulty switching between or accessing apps outside of Zoom. As well, students may be interrupted frequently if they are at home caring for a family member. All of this to say, it’s important to set your expectations with your students, while simultaneously recognizing that some leniency may be in order given the circumstance. To see some activities that specifically support equity and inclusion, see Chapter 5: Supporting Equity.