อย่างไร GoEast Mandarin's ห้องเรียนออนไลน์ทํางาน
In short:
- We use Zoom for online classes.
- You can use Zoom inside Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge. You may be asked to download a tiny plugin on your first time.
- Your teacher will send you a link to connect ahead of your class.
- Please use this time to test if the connection works.
- After your class, your teacher will send you all the notes and assignments by email or WeChat.
See how it works:
Open the video here if you don’t have a VPN: https://v.qq.com/x/page/i30587iyupw.html
What’s ‘inside’ an online classroom?
- You, obviously! And if you’re in a group class, your classmates too.
- Your teacher. You’ll have the same teacher. All GoEast teachers are trained to teach online.
- Your textbooks. You’ll have them at home, while your teacher can share a digital version on the screen, so you can both read aloud, gloss over the grammar points, or laugh at the cheesy stock images.
- Your teacher can also decide to open other prepared PPT’s to explain grammar points, or use software like Quizlet for vocabulary rehearsal.
How it works:
- Your teacher will send you a Zoom URL just before your class begins, using your usual way of communication (WeChat or email).
- Once you’re both logged-in, she/he’ll start screen sharing, while you keep seeing each other. This screen acts as a virtual whiteboard, just like in the class.
- Your teacher also has your textbook digitally, and you can go over the materials.
- Afterwards you’ll be sent all the notes from the ‘whiteboard’ in a PDF.
Software
- Our classes are held through Zoom, which is free to use for you.
- Zoom is more stable than Skype, and allows screen-sharing which WeChat doesn’t have.
- If you wish to use Skype or WeChat, we can also accommodate that.
- Zoom works inside your browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge). You may be asked to download a tiny plugin.
- If you wish, you can also download & install Zoom here as software: https://zoom.us/download
- If you want to test if everything works beforehand, you can use https://zoom.us/test
Some frequently-asked-questions:
Do I need a headset or headphones?
Zoom filters out the echo of your own voice, so you can use it without headphones. If you’re in a noisy environment (like a café) then we definitely recommend headphones.
Do I need a VPN for Zoom?
Nope.
Do I need to register for Zoom?
Zoom may prompt you to authenticate with your phone number, or you can log in through Facebook or Google. For this you need a VPN though.
Which computer or devices can I use?
Zoom should work on any device, such as a desktop computer (Windows & Mac), laptop (Windows & Mac), tablet (iOS & Android) or smartphone (iOS & Android).
What time is my class?
You can adhere to your usual schedule. You’ll be reminded of this. If this doesn’t work, you can always tell your teacher or language consultant as always.
What if I have trouble connecting?
The teacher will send you the link to enter the classroom 5 minutes before the class starts. Please use these 5 minutes to see if everything works. If not, let your teacher know. It’s fine if the class starts a few minutes later.
Most common problems are:
- Bad connection. If you’re using a VPN, consider switching off the VPN.
- No sound from your headphones or microphone. Inside Zoom, click on the arrow (^) next to the speaker icon (bottom left) to see if the selected input & output are correct. Especially Bluetooth headsets sometimes give trouble.
