Our St. Thomas Innovation and Technology Services (ITS) team now has Zoom Assistants, trained student employees who have earned Zoom Host and Zoom Assistant badges.

This fall 2020 several Zoom Assistants started teaming with faculty to help get the most out of Zoom in both fully online classes (where everyone is in Zoom) and also flex/blended classes where some may be online in Zoom and others are in person at the same time.

Typically,  a student Zoom Assistant would join you for 1-4 sessions (although on occasion, longer), or if you simply want a Zoom Assistant to practice certain Zoom tools with you, that is also an option.

These student employees are committed to you and your class’s success, and work in partnership with you to help you to further incorporate Zoom features and engagement tools into your teaching.

How to Request a Zoom Assistant

If you would like a Zoom Assistant to either join you for practice, or to attend one or more class times, please complete this short Zoom Assistant Request form. These details will help us to match the right support for your needs.

Situations Where a Zoom Assistant may Help 

• If you wish to try breakout rooms and have help the first time doing that, a Zoom Assistant could join you to first practice and then join your class.
• Perhaps you feel that your Zoom students and face to face students do not hear one another well; the Zoom Assistant can join your Zoom students for a session or more and help to improve the experience for virtual students.
• If you have an extra-large class, you might like a Zoom Assistant to help monitor chat, monitor the participant box, and help with audio or cameras if someone has trouble.
• Perhaps you have a guest speaker with a large class, and would like a second pair of hands to help you with the Zoom logistics for that session.
• Maybe things are overall going “ok” and yet teaching can be lonely (especially during COVID) and you would like some validation in how you are using Zoom and also get a few other good tips or ideas.

If you or someone you work with may appreciate a Zoom Assistant,  please encourage them to fill out the Zoom Assistance Request form or talk to Sam Baldwin or Jo Montie to learn more.

Thanks for helping us to launch this new effort, and please help spread the word! 

This post was written by Jo Montie, Online Learning Student Success Facilitator jkmontie@stthomas.edu with the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research (STELAR) Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.