First steps
ï Participate in a conference to understand the flow.
ï Learn how to operate the system.
ï Consider what will be happening at sites other than the local site.
ï Practice your presentations skills.
ï Go through a "dress rehearsal" during which you use your visuals and all equipment that you'll use.

Pedagogical considerations
ï Plan, plan, plan for interaction.
ï Plan for interaction within and among local and remote sites.
ï Modify the ways you would conduct local class activities so they work at a distance.
ï Use visuals as organizers and to extend presentation and discussion.
ï Summarize or have participants summarize.
ï Use transitions to explain what will happen next.
ï Rather than have an exclusively videoconferenced series of meetings, communicate using electronic mail, electronic discussion groups or bulletin boards, fax, paper, phone, and in person.

Planning a videoconference
ï Know your audience. What prerequisites, what language, what culture, what expectations, etc.? Survey your students ahead, if possible.
ï Determine all objectives and activities and specify a length of time to spend on each.
ï Appoint a facilitator at each site and have technical support at each site.
ï Send printed materials ahead in plenty of time.

Preparing visuals for a videoconference
ï Visuals to be placed on the document camera should have a shape in proportion to the monitor (3 x 4) and be horizontally-oriented (landscape).
ï Leave margins on all edges.
ï Use a dark font on a light background.
ï Use a very light blue or pale yellow background for visuals, if possible (less glare).
ï Use a large font; 36-point Geneva (sans serif) or larger is often suggested.
ï Have a maximum of 3 to 5 points on one visual. Use key words rather than full sentences.
ï Limit special fonts and emphases (e.g., underlines).
ï Make simple, clear visuals without lots of detail.
ï Use capital letters only where required.
ï Use color appropriately. Experiment to determine the best colors.
ï Plan for "picture in picture" (PIP). That is, don't put essential information in the bottom right corner of your visuals because that space on the videoconference monitor may be used by the videoconferencing system.
ï Although the document camera can zoom in, enlarge text or pictures prior to the conference using a copy machine.
ï Warning: Remember copyright restrictions!

Computer presentations
ï Follow the guidelines above for visuals.
ï Use minimal motion. Use little or no special effects such as "wipes."
ï Don't try to show screens with regular-sized fonts and small icons, etc.
ï Consider providing a printout of computer screens for students to annotate, rather than having them copy what you show.

Communicating
ï Make certain all participants know they should identify themselves and their site when starting to speak. Provide an example, "This is Jane Doe from Lemmon."
ï Introduce sites and facilitators at each site.
ï Clarify how conference control will be passed from site to site.
ï Perhaps set rules for length of time speaking.
ï Allow time after speaking (6 - 8 seconds) for your communication to get to the other sites and a response to return. Count at first, if necessary, to help lengthen your wait.
ï Wait for speakers to finish; don't jump in because you'll keep causing a 6 - 8 second delay.

Using the camera
ï Maintain eye contact with the camera (or monitor just below it) when speaking to remote sites.
ï When using visuals, switch back to the presenter occasionally.
ï Zoom the camera in and out as little as possible.
ï Do zoom in on speakers, or use "whole room" shots during discussion.
ï Use shots of head and shoulders.
ï Sit in one place or stand very still. If you must move, move slowly.
ï Don't "talk with your hands."

Using the microphones
ï Speak naturally; pause so that others can speak.
ï Remind participants not to tap pencils or cough loudly near the microphones.
ï Remind participants to mute microphones when appropriate.

Building a community of learners
ï Use several methods to help students know each other -- name "tents" at each place (large lettering), class web site, seating charts, etc.
ï Plan activities that are done across sites.
ï Visit all sites. Present from sites in addition to your local site.

What to wear
ï Pastel and light-dark combinations are good.
ï Don't wear red since it tends to "bleed" and blur on monitors.
ï Don't wear large checks or large-scaled prints because they are distracting to viewers.
ï Avoid wearing only solid white; instead wear a dark jacket or sweater.
ï Don't wear shiny jewelry or big dangling earrings.
ï Keep in mind that you may get very warm during a videoconference, so consider what layers will work for you.

Materials to have available during videoconferenceï
ï Paper for ad-hoc visuals.
ï Bold markers in dark blue, black, or red.
ï Simple images to use during pauses or wait times.
ï Site identification signs
ï Phone numbers for conference dial-ins, emergencies, fax, etc.

Planning for disaster
ï Always plan for what you'll do if you the conferencing system fails.
ï Plan for what you'll do if you "lose" one or more sites during the videoconference.
ï A videotape of the activities at the instructor location is always made to share with sites that go down or with absent students.
ï  Remember, that the student technician is doing all that can be done to remedy the problem.

Just prior to a videoconference
ï Arrive 15 minutes to an hour ahead of time.
ï Use a checklist to make sure room is arranged in convenient way with control pad accessible, document camera and other equipment attached, etc.
ï Test your computer for network and visual compatibility.  Not all computers work with the standard configuration.

Helping participants
ï Be comfortable with the situation. Although you are on a television-style monitor, your videoconference will not be broadcasted beyond the class.
ï Help your participants become comfortable; encourage participation.
ï Acknowledge and accept that things will be wrong.

Use combinations of technologies
ï Hold a videoconference early in a course if most class "meetings" will be held using computer-mediated communication.
ï For audio-only conferences, share photos on paper or on the web so that faces can be matched to voices.
ï Combine video or audio conferencing with listserv, e-mail, and web-based activities.
ï Combine use of desktop systems and room-based systems for flexible "gatherings."

Evaluating your videoconference
ï View the videotape your conference; check achievement of goals, interaction, visuals, volume, etc.
ï Use a formal evaluation form.
ï Request informal feedback from students, a colleague, and technical support personnel.