Encourage student interaction with Zoom polls, reactions, and participation via the chat window. 

Polling

The Zoom polling feature allows you to conduct multiple-choice polls with your class. You can set up a poll ahead of time in a scheduled meeting, or create it in real-time by clicking the “Polling” button during a meeting. Add a poll to a scheduled meeting by logging in at cuboulder.zoom.us and selecting the appropriate meeting under “Meetings.” 

Raising Hands 

Zoom’s “Raise Hand” function can be found by clicking the “Participants” button in your meeting controls. For meeting attendees (not meeting hosts), a sidebar or pop-up window will appear with a grey “Raise Hand” button at the bottom. Students can ask a question or indicate they want to participate in the conversation with this feature, which adds an icon of a hand to their video screen. As the meeting host or co-host, you will also see students with raised hands in the Participant window. You can lower a student’s hand after they have asked their question or participated, or they can. 

Reactions & Nonverbal Feedback

Participants can clap, send a thumbs up, or otherwise react by clicking “Reactions” at the bottom of their screen during a Zoom session. This feature displays a small image of the reaction in the corner of their video for a duration of five seconds. You can also enable nonverbal feedback in your Zoom meeting settings, to allow for additional reactions that will display in the Participant window. These buttons allow students to click a yes or no button, indicate thumbs up or thumbs down, and more. Set expectations for how you want your students to engage in your class to get the most out of this feature. 

Chat 

The chat window allows participants to type messages and talk with the whole group, with you, and/or with each other individually. Students can ask questions by typing them in the chat window, answer questions, or add additional links and information. You can change chat permissions in your account settings to set who students can chat with during a meeting. 

Annotation

Annotation lets students write, draw, or type on a shared screen or whiteboard in Zoom. Students can contribute on a problem set, edit group work, or otherwise collaborate by annotating within a Zoom meeting. You can enable or disable this feature in your settings.