Video Conference Guide

Find an Expert

break into groups to research the topic, eg. biographies, early interviews
guide students into asking open-ended questions that lead to stories or anecdotes, these tend to make the most interesting interviews.
students formulate questions to ask the expert based on research
collate the questions into a logical sequence for an interview and print (they may need some light editing)
select two students to ask the questions during the interview.
So that each student has a voice, ask the interviewers to phrase the questions like this “This question comes from John, he asks “________””

Teacher presence in the interview should be not on screen, but it is suggested that you gesture to the interviewers off-camera to get them to skip questions.
Write an introduction for interviewers to read followed by the student-generated questions in sequential/ logical order

Here is a video to show the results of the conference. We recommend watching the introduction and then skip ahead to some later questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_ENmPXfuN4

Laptop computer with webcam tends to work best for video conferencing
External microphone such as a Blue Snowball (available from IT)
Dongle or AirPlay to connect to a projection device (if more than 2 participants on your side of the conversation)
External speakers (removed from the mic as far as possible)

We recommend Google Hangouts for ease of use. Note: Google Hangouts on Air is a nice solution if you want to also record the conference for later use.
Zoom is a new online software that is quite good.
Skype is a nice option too, but the other party needs a Skype account.
There may be a video conference software dictated by the conference organizer. If there is a new software not listed above, please be sure to test before your event to ensure it works in nistwifi on the actual computer you want to use for the conference.

Student computers that need to control the video conference will need their network settings changed to allow access to video conferencing.
Lighting: Be sure to not have a light source behind you. (i.e. do not sit with your back to a window) Be sure to have a light source in front of you (behind the camera in the laptop).
Background: Try to have a dark and simple (not distracting) background. You can try to have a logo in the background if it helps.
Audio: Choose your audio output as the TV speakers or an external speaker. Choose your external mic as the input source in your video conference software.
Video: Watch the conference on your laptop. Send your video to the projection device if there are more than 2 participants on your side of the conference.

Updated on November 14, 2018