Zoom

Zoom is inherently a synchronous tool, where all participants come together, at the same time, just like in a conventional classroom. Instructors can present course material, and students can respond to questions and engage in discussion.

Zoom is a cloud-based platform for video- and audioconferencing, collaboration, and online meetings and webinars. Generally, Zoom is easy to use, easy to install and get started, and runs on Windows, Macintosh, Android, and iPhone devices, making it very popular.

Features

The Zoom meeting option allows all participants to take turns speaking and/or sharing their screen, with the group limited to invited participants.

A Zoom webinar is more like a broadcast from a small group of panelists (up to 100) to a large number of attendees. The panelists have all the features of Zoom, and attendees may interact through chat, polling, and Q-and-A features.

Main features

• Video/audioconferencing
• Video/audio individual and host-initiated muting
• Screen sharing
• Chat
• Recording
• Ability to create breakout rooms
• Polling (multiple choice)
• Whiteboard with drawing tools
• Host/co-hosts

Campus Zoom Rooms are available. These are well-equipped physical meeting spaces with high-definition video and audio, and digital whiteboards. Hosting a meeting in a Zoom Room requires an additional license purchase through the MSU Tech Store.

Security and Safety Recommendations

Generally, Zoom’s ease of use is achieved at the cost of security. The software is subject to many underlying security issues, although the company has recently addressed some issues.  

The phenomenon of “Zoom bombing” has recently emerged. This is when an unauthorized person or group crashes a meeting, takes over screen sharing, and engages in harassment and other inappropriate behavior. Sometimes this is a result of the bad actors searching for any open meeting, and sometimes it is an “inside job.” A bored, unprepared, or dissatisfied student can share a link to a Zoom meeting (and the password, if any) with friends or strangers online and invite the disruption.

The possibilities for bad behavior can be reduced considerably by using appropriate features and settings.

• Do not put platform information (links and passwords) on any website. Only share information about platform directly with registered participants.
• Enable the “waiting room” feature for smaller classroom-sized events. Then each participant connecting to the meeting will require the host to admit him/her, after recognizing or verifying identity. Once a meeting is underway with all the expected participants, lock the meeting to prevent anyone else from joining. “Guest participants only” will allow MSU staff to bypass.
• Use a password for the meeting: Use a password on all sessions. However, a password doesn’t help with the “inside job” scenario.
• Restrict screen-sharing: A meeting can be configured to only permit screen sharing by the host. The host may still permit (and revoke) screen sharing by other participants. This reduces the “disruption surface” available to bad actors.
• Disable video and audio recording: Do not record the meeting or grant recording permission to participants.
• Let Zoom create a random meeting ID instead of using your personal meeting ID.
• Mute participants by default and un-mute as needed for discussion.
• Schedule all Zoom sessions in advance and provide links and passwords to the director of Youth Programs.
• Do not allow participants to rename themselves.
• Chat features may be enabled but must be monitored.
• Do not enable the “Show a ‘Join from your browser’ link” setting (it is off by default).
• Disable the “Join before host” feature to prevent anyone starting the meeting before you.

Here are some additional recommendations:

• Dress appropriately: Instructors and other adults appearing in videos must be dressed in appropriate attire.
• Have an unidentifiable neutral background: The setting must use a neutral background and not reveal private spaces inside a home.

Recording

Zoom provides the ability for the host to record the video and audio of a meeting. Participants must either consent to being recorded or leave the meeting. A host may also grant recording privilege to another participant. When a host or participant is recording a meeting, an indication will show next to that person in the Participants pane.

Of course, participants as well as hosts may record their screens and audio through tools outside Zoom’s control, without the knowledge or consent of others.

Licensing

MSU faculty, staff, and students are automatically licensed at the “pro” level, which permits hosting meetings of up to 300 participants, and webinars of up to 500. Using a campus Zoom Room or hosting a larger webinar (up to 10,000 viewers) requires an additional license purchase through the MSU Tech Store.

Accessibility

Accommodations for persons with disabilities can be handled as they would be in a face-to-face setting. For example, a sign language interpreter can join the meeting, and participants can “pin” that video to see the translation.

Zoom has a closed captioning feature where one of the participants can transcribe the speakers, and the other participants can choose to view them. It is also possible to hire a 3^rd party captioning service to provide live captioning for your sessions.

A recommendation is to ask program participants if they require special accommodations (such as closed captioning, etc.) prior to the sessions and make accommodations, as necessary.

Non-MSU Hosts

Community ID holders cannot host a Zoom meeting through MSU, although they can participate like anyone else. In the case of a session run by a contracted non-MSU teacher, a sponsoring MSU person could act as the official meeting host, and then grant necessary screen sharing and other privileges to the instructor for the remainder of the session. An MSU account can only host one meeting at a time, so handling multiple sessions at the same time requires multiple MSU sponsors.

Resources for Zoom

• Getting started. There is a helpful link to a Commonly Asked Questions page.
• Best Practices for Securing Your Zoom Classroom

Kaltura MediaSpace

MediaSpace is an MSU platform for hosting audio, video, and images. MSU faculty, staff, and students may upload media files (video and audio) and then share links to these items to anyone. Media items are organized into channels, analogous to YouTube. MediaSpace channels may be private, restricted, or public. Channels have a list of members (like subscribers on YouTube), which can be managed by the channel owner.

In the context of a summer program, the program host would create a (restricted) channel corresponding to the program and add the participants as members using their Community IDs. (See the Community IDs, CAPS, and CashNet section at the end of this document). Then the host can upload video (or audio or still images) and direct participants there.

Main features

• Video hosting capability
• Audio hosting capability
• Video and audio machine-captioning service
• Image hosting
• Ability to make channels private, restricted, or public

Security and Safety Recommendations

Each item may have the comment feature enabled or disabled. Consider whether to enable comments on an item, and if you do, monitor the content of comments (commenting requires a login, so they are not anonymous). If you do decide to enable the comments feature:

• Do not put the login information on any website. Only share information about the platform directly with registered participants.
• Monitor comments closely if you decide to enable comments.

Here are some additional recommendations for video recordings:

• Dress appropriately: Instructors and other adults appearing in videos must be dressed in appropriate attire.
• Have an unidentifiable neutral background: The setting must use a neutral background and not reveal private spaces inside a home.

Accessibility

MediaSpace includes an automatic machine-captioning service for uploaded audio and video files. The channel owner must request captioning for each media item after uploading (via menu selection in MediaSpace). Once the captions are generated, you can edit them to correct the inevitable errors. The generated transcript will appear with the video and selecting words and phrases in the transcript will move the video player to the selected point.

Resources for MediaSpace

• Main site
• Frequently asked questions
• Machine captioning

D2L

D2L Brightspace (formerly Desire2Learn) is MSU’s hosted courseware system. It provides a full platform for running an online program. MSU faculty and staff may create new courses and enter the content of the various modules.

Main features

• Instructors can divide course content into modules and sub-modules.
• Instructors can download textual lessons, pre-recorded video or audio, and links to resources and organize them in folders.
• Students and instructors can communicate through email, instant messages, and discussions forums.
• Instructors can create assignments and quizzes.
• Instructors can create surveys and self-assessments.
• It is usable by non-MSU people with Community IDs (See the Community IDs, CAPS, and CashNet section at the end of this document).

Security and Safety Recommendations

• Do not put platform information (links and passwords) on any website. Only share information about platform directly with registered participants.
• Only use platform features for communication with students.
• Do not email a student without also including another adult (program staff or parent).
• Dress appropriately in video recordings: Instructors and other adults appearing in videos must be dressed in appropriate attire.
• Have an unidentifiable neutral background in video recordings: The setting must use a neutral background and not reveal private spaces inside a home.

Accessibility

On the D2L site, the most accessible and preferred form for class material is HTML. If HTML is not appropriate, the second most preferred form is a native file format like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. The third is a PDF file. A PDF file can be made accessible, but it requires knowledge and effort to do so; it does not happen automatically.

Summer program participants may not have access to the Microsoft Office suite, and so the only reliable means of presenting class material is via HTML, either directly on the D2L site, or an external site linked from there.

Resources

• Main site
• Instructor FAQ
• D2L Subscription training
• Instructor – D2L Self-Directed Training (Look in My Courses)
• Changing from Classroom to Online Courses During the COVID 19 Virus Outbreak

Google Classroom

*Please note that you should use your MSU Google account to create your Google Classroom.*

Google Classroom is a virtual classroom environment for document-sharing between teacher and students with the ability to provide feedback to students on assignments. Google Classroom ties together the various Google applications, like Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Mail, and Calendar to create a platform for teaching. The inherent document-sharing and multi-user capabilities of the Google platform carry over to the Classroom. Teachers can create accounts for each student in advance or send an enrollment code to students which allows them to join the class.

Main features

• Assignments are created using various kinds of documents and shared with students.
• Student work is shared back with the instructor. Instructors can monitor progress and provide feedback.
• Students can work in groups and collaborate within documents.
• Chat and video meetings can be added to a Classroom.

Using Google Classroom with MSU Account

Due to security concerns it is advised that you use your MSU GSuite account to create your Google Classroom.  Although this necessitates a few more steps to get everything set up you can be assured that your students’ privacy is protected and everything is as secure as possible.  Below are three documents detailing the process to set up an MSU based Google classroom.  In short the process consists of:

1. Log in to you MSU GSuite account and create a Google Classroom.
2. Send the ID office a list of all participants that will need to join your Google classroom (they will be issued FPIDs).
3. Activate all FPIDs for students.
4. Send each student their GSuite login information and Google Classroom class code.

Resources

• Creating an MSU Google Classroom and Activating FPIDs
• Joining a Google Classroom - Participant Instructions
• Using Google Classroom

Security and Safety Recommendations

Monitor collaborative work among students using shared documents, and monitor any chat features you use.

Accessibility

When sharing or storing files, make sure that they are accessible to all participants, including those with disabilities. The preferred form is a native file format like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. A PDF file can be made accessible, but it requires knowledge and effort to do so; it does not happen automatically. If you are including videos, make sure to caption them.

Resources

• Getting Started with Google Classroom 2017 (video tutorial)
• Enroll students in Google Classroom
• Pros and Cons of Google Classroom

Google Sites

Google Sites is a content management system that allows users to create and update simple websites. A site may include multiple pages with text blocks, images, and links to external resources. Downloadable files (.pdf, data files, etc.) can be loaded into the site owner’s Google Drive, and then referenced on the site. An instructor can use a Google Site to present course material to a class (or to a larger audience).

Main features

• It provides an easy way to create and update simple websites using pre-made templates and drag-and-drop interface.
• A URL is automatically generated (https://sites.google.com/msu.edu/{site_name}) and there is no need to register a domain name. A website can be published immediately on creation, with no pre-approval or technical support.
• It is easy to embed YouTube videos and various other Google products: documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, maps, and calendars.
• A site may be published to the public, only to viewers with an MSU account, or only to a limited list of people (who need not be MSU-affiliated).
• Site visitors can view and download content.
• A site owner can grant permission for others to edit the site.

Security and Safety Recommendations

A site created with this tool does not directly support interaction (such as comments or chat); however, you should consider how the safety recommendations apply to any off-site resource you link to (YouTube videos, newspaper articles, etc.).

Accessibility

When sharing or storing files, make sure that they are accessible to all participants, including those with disabilities. The preferred form is a native file format like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. A PDF file can be made accessible, but it requires knowledge and effort to do so; it does not happen automatically. If you are including videos, make sure to caption them.

Resources

• NEW Google Sites: 10 things teachers must know
• Google Sites for Teacher Web Pages and Student Projects

Google Hangouts, Google Meet, and Google Duo

Google offers multiple products for videoconferencing and chat, with considerable feature overlap and similar names. Here are the distinctions:

• Google Duo: Person-to-person video calling, like Apple FaceTime. Works from a browser and on Android and iOS devices. Participants must both have a Google account (either a Gmail address, or as a G Suite customer).
• Google Hangouts: Small-group video conferencing (up to 10 participants). All participants must have a Google account. Works from a browser and Android or iOS devices.
• Google Meet (Formerly Google Hangouts Meet): Large-scale videoconferencing, roughly comparable to Zoom
• Google Hangouts Chat: A team collaboration system like Microsoft Teams

Cost

All of the products listed above are free to use when you are logged into your MSU GSuite account (costs may apply if trying to use your personal account).

Security and Safety Recommendations

Do not share meeting information (links, passwords) in a public place like a website; communicate this information directly to registered participants only.

References

• Google Meet vs Google Hangouts vs Google Duo: What's the difference?

Community IDs, CAPS, and CashNet

These three systems work together to simplify the process of a non-MSU program registrant getting access to a D2L-mediated program, MediaSpace, and other MSU systems.

Community ID

The key for non-MSU participants to access many MSU systems is the Community ID. It is the equivalent of a NetID for the general public. There is no cost; they can be obtained by the participant on request, or can be bulk-generated by an instructor when a class roster is known. A Community ID holder can log into D2L, MediaSpace, and other MSU systems. The only requirement for a Community ID is a non-MSU email address.

CashNet

CashNet is MSU’s authorized payment card processing system. A summer program can be listed as an item in a department’s CashNet store, and, by means of CAPS integration, purchasing registration will ensure the registrant has a valid Community ID and enroll the user in the correct D2L session.

CAPS

The key to easily connecting program registrants to D2L and other electronic resources is CAPS, the Course Access Provisioning System. CAPS replaced the prior Non-Credit Registration System (NCRS). CAPS connects the purchase of an item in a storefront (registration in a program) to enrollment in the corresponding D2L course.

Once CAPS is integrated with a CashNet storefront, your program’s registration website will direct prospective registrants to your storefront using a special “roundabout” URL, instead of a direct link to your storefront. This link will ensure that the end user has logged in using a valid Community ID and register the end user with CAPS. Then the end user can register and pay for your program through your storefront. Behind the scenes, this end user will be enrolled in the proper D2L course.

Note that CAPS cannot be integrated with a pre-existing CashNet store; you will need to create a new storefront with CAPS integration. Creating a CashNet store involves several steps and should be started well ahead of registration time.

Resources

• Community IDs
• MSU IT Service Desk: (517) 432-6200
• CAPS Admin Guide
• CAPS website
• Configuring CAPS and Integrating with CashNet
• Example Community ID Individual Registration Instructions
• Example Community ID Bulk Registration Instructions