In a classroom lesson, it is so natural to watch a video together. This can of course also be done in an online class ... but just a little differently.
No sound
Many teachers use Microsoft Teams or Google Hangouts during a classroom lesson. Perfect programmes to share your screen, so students also have a blackboard at home. And in the classroom, you show the video on that same blackboard. Unfortunately …that's not automatically going to work that way with a video in an online classroom. Aside from the fact that the video may not run as smoothly due to bandwidth, there is no sound by default.
This is because both platforms do not send the sound of your shared screen along, only the microphone sound. The teacher can be heard through the microphone, all (system) sounds from your computer cannot. Showing a video together and in sync can therefore not be as simple as you are used to. In most cases you have to turn it on manually.
Microsoft Teams
When you share the screen, you can specify in Teams whether the system sounds should also be shared. This option is located above the screens you can share. If you check this box, the sound of the video will also be passed in the online class.
Google Meet
In Google Meet, choose Present Now and then select the option: a Chrome tab. If you present a Chrome tab, the audio from that tab will be shared by default.
Muted tabs
If your students still don't hear a sound, even though all the settings are right, you might want to check if the tab in which you opened LessonUp is not muted. This means that the sound is turned off for that specific tab. If you are in Chrome or Edge, you will see a sound symbol with a line through it. With the following steps you can turn the sound of the tab back on:
Right-click the tab with the sound symbol.
Click on Unmute Site Sound.
Let students watch the video independently
In addition, you can decide to let students review the video independently. This gives the students a few minutes to watch the video independently, and then you take over the lesson. You can use the option Show to student in LessonUp to allow students to view the video independently. With this option you share your own LessonUp screen. At that moment the students get to see the video on their screen, and they can watch it independently, start and stop it. Then you can discuss the video with them or ask them some interactive questions about the video.
You can activate this option by first starting the lesson (using the red button Teach) and then checking the Show to student box at the bottom.
Good to know: using the Show to Student option in LessonUp does not allow you to use interactive videos. It is best to use these as shared lessons.
It's also possible to prepare the lesson as a shared lesson in advance via the LessonUp environment, electronic learning environment or the dashboard in Teams.