How I Started Teaching Online with Zoom

If there has been anything positive as the result of CoVid-19, is that it gave me an opportunity to try teaching online with Zoom. As a music instructor, my focus has always been instructing students face to face. However, after the Corona Virus hit, in person was no longer an option.

Early Attempts Including Discord

After trying Discord, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Zoom, I realized Zoom was by far the best choice for teaching music. I knew it would be difficult to remember all of the nuances in each platform, so it made the most sense to go with the one that had the most flexibility.

Initially, Discord was my go to platform since it was so easy to use. It was incredibly intuitive. However, many students struggled to get their camera’s to work. It also kept my camera on and would not let other programs use it even after quitting the sessions and logging completely out of the program. I eventually had to change the camera setting to my laptop’s “Leap Motion.” Other than that, Discord was easy and user friendly for me. But several of my students could not get the video portion to work.

The Other Online Programs

Skype and Google hangout were two other programs that did not offer many tools for teaching. I needed something that would be rich in features, so I decided that Zoom would be the best.

Teaching Online with Zoom

Zoom is amazing! There were some issues with security in the beginning, but I could only imagine how overwhelming it would be during Covid to expand that quickly. This program offers so much, especially with the whiteboard feature. The student and I are both able to write on it while keeping the video going. Afterwards, the student can save it to whatever file they would like.

There are virtual backgrounds, fun emojis, and best of all it is free unless you need more than 40 minutes.

Zoom also has so many settings to be able to tweak, including an original sound setting. This setting is a must for music instructors. There is a button that prevents the program from blocking out background noise. This allows the teacher to hear the musical instruments. Without this option, the music is filtered out and the instructor cannot hear the instrument.

Final Thoughts

I realize there are many different programs for many different situations. But for teaching a musical instrument, I recommend Zoom. This has been my go to and am very happy to have stayed with it.

If you have any questions or would like to learn to take lessons, feel free to contact me. I will get back to you within 24 hours.

How I Started Teaching Online with Zoom