Zoom étiquette for trainees

Very soon, if you aren't already, you will be pros at participating in the Zoom classroom. Until then, here are some guidelines to keep the process smooth and comfortable for everyone.

Your name

Use your name for your screen name. This way, it will be easy for your instructors (and classmates who don't yet know you) to address you by name. 

Muting

We want you to talk and be heard! In seminars, keep yourself unmuted unless your dog is barking/baby is crying/neighbors are renovating/etc. If there is background noise you can’t quiet, set your microphone to mute and then press and hold the space bar (on a desktop or laptop) to speak then release it to mute again. In large gatherings, such as graduation, please stay muted.

Chats

Please limit chat to the public thread. If it’s private, save it for after class. Private chats are distracting and detract from the group experience. 

Notifications

Please silence your devices' notifications and set your Zoom class to full screen to limit distractions during class. 

Keep your video on

It's fine to step away from the camera if you need to, but please keep it on throughout class. Blank screens make your teachers nervous.

Raising hands

If you have a question but are reluctant to interrupt you can use the "raise hand" feature to speak. You can do this by clicking on the chat button on the bottom of the screen and selecting "raise hand." Or you can just...raise your hand.

Reactions

If you're muted and don't want to risk talking over others, you can still give a thumbs up or a round of applause by clicking the Reactions link at the bottom of the screen and selecting the sign you want to share.