With churches going online for worship, what about groups? If you want an interactive way to teach a Bible study during the COVID-19 crisis, ZOOM is a good tool that allows people to interact online in a safe environment. You can get a free version at zoom.us.
Here are some quick tips from The Sunday School Guy podcast.
Tip 1: Shorten your content – less is more! Reduce your classroom content by about 40-50%.
Tip 2: Plan for discussion – people need to talk, especially these days of social isolation. A good discussion question will take 3-5 minutes for people to respond.
Tip 3: Use a headset or microphone for clarity.
Tip 4: Lighting should be positioned to the front or side of you, not behind you.
Tip 5: Look directly at the webcam, not your screen, when you’re talking.
Tip 6: Mute your microphone if you’re not speaking.
Tip 7: Don’t use a Zoom virtual background unless you have a green screen. Use simple backgrounds, and make sure clutter is minimized or it will be distracting.
Tip 8: Check the “chat” feature regularly.
Tip 9: Use Zoom’s annotation tools to highlight or call attention to things on the screen that are particularly important.
Tip 10: Use “gallery view” when you have a smaller number of attendees.
Tip 11: Share your screen when appropriate.
Tip 12: Set ground rules at the beginning of your Zoom meeting.
Ken Braddy is Director of Sunday School for LifeWay Christian Resources.