Lecturer FAQs
You will be delivering your lecture via Zoom web conference. Here are some FAQs:
Q: Will I have technical support?
A: Yes. A technician will be available online with you before the lecture begins and will be monitoring the lecture for any technical issues.
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Later in this form, you will be asked to provide your cell number and this will be used if there are any issues getting set up or during the lecture and the technician needs to speak with you outside of the Zoom call
Q: Who initiates the Zoom session?
A: A technician from Discovery Commons will schedule the Zoom session in advance. and will start the session 30 minutes before the scheduled lecture start time.
Q: Will lectures start on the hour?
A: Yes. Lecture start and end times are different this year in the MD Program, compared to previous years.
While previously, the actual start time was 10 minutes past the scheduled start time in accordance with general U of T scheduling, now MD Program lectures will begin at the scheduled start time.
50-minute lectures: A 10-minute break will take place after your 50-minute lecture. For example, if your lecture is scheduled to begin at 10am, please begin your lecture at 10am and finish it by 10:50am. You will receive a note via the Zoom chat at the 45-minute mark of your lecture, letting you know that you have 5 minutes left.
1.5-hour and longer lectures: A 10-15 minute break will take place after your 1 hour 25 minutes of teaching. You will receive a note via the Zoom chat at the 1 hour 20 minute mark of your lecture, letting you know that you have 5 minutes left.
It is important to begin and end on time as the students will need a break to refresh and regroup, and to provide time for lecturer turnaround.
Q: Who screen shares and advances my slides?
A: You will screen share and advance your slides. The technician will tell you how to do this if you are not familiar with ith.
Q: How do I join the Zoom session?
A: after submitting this form, a technician will add you as a panelist to the Zoom lecture session
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you will receive an email from noreply@Zoom.us with a unique link. Please watch for this email and flag it for easy referral
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when you are ready to join the session, click the link in the email
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this email will be resent 1 hour prior to the lecture's scheduled start time, or the start time of a group of lectures.
Q: When should I join my Zoom lecture?
A: You should come online and open your Zoom lecture session 25 minutes before the scheduled start time using the unique Zoom panelist link sent to you at the email address you entered above.
The technician will have started the session 30 minutes before the scheduled start time. Getting online early allows you and the technician an opportunity to make sure all of your equipment is working as expected and to troubleshoot any issues. If everything checks out, you can mute your mic and camera and do other things until the start time.
Q: What if I am co-teaching, or have panelists or guest patients?
A: You may have co-lecturers, or multiple panelists or guests. A technician will manage switching presenters and will help with the set up and technical aspects of this in advance. There is a section further on in the form to provide us with contact information for any other lecturers who may be involved in your session.
Q: Will my lecture will be recorded?
A: Your lecture, including your PowerPoint, your voice, and a small inset of your camera image, will be recorded and posted on the students' course website (password protected) for their review. The recording will be posted usually within 24 hours of the lecture taking place and remains available to students in that class until they graduate.
Recordings are downloadable to a mobile device, but not in the usual sense of a stand-alone file; instead, it is still tied to the identity of the student who downloaded it, and it cannot be viewed by anyone unauthorized. This means that students can download the recording so they can watch it on the train, for example, but cannot share it with anyone outside of their class in the MD Program or post it anywhere.
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Q: How will students ask questions in Year 1 lectures?
A: Students will use the Zoom “raise hand” feature to indicate that they have a comment or question, and then will unmute their mic when called on. The Zoom Q & A feature, where students can send questions via text, will be turned off.
If your lecture requires students to comment or ask questions differently from this default, please indicate this in the “Tell Us About Your Lecture” section below.
Q: How will students ask questions in Year 2 lectures?
A: Students will ask questions via the Zoom Q&A, with no anonymous questions permitted. We would encourage you to have someone with content expertise monitor the Q&A and alert you to relevant ones, or we can provide someone to help if requested. Before your lecture, you can discuss with this person how you would like to manage the questions.
If your lecture requires students to comment or ask questions differently from this default, please indicate this in the “Tell Us About Your Lecture” section below.
Q: Will I be able to see the students?
A: No. The type of Zoom call that will be used for lectures will be a webinar, in which the online participants will be able to see and hear you, but you will not be able to see or hear them (with the exception of anyone whose mic you unmute).
Q: What features will be available to be on Zoom?
A: Interactivity is encouraged. You will be able to use zoom features such as polling, whiteboards, and the Q&A function. If you have any questions about using these features, please ensure you bring this up during your test session with DC.
Students will be asked to use the Q&A function to ask questions. You are not responsible for monitoring the chat. We would encourage you to have someone with content expertise monitor the Q&A , but if one is not available, we can provide someone to help monitor the Q&A if requested.
Q: How can I connect with a technician before my lecture?
A: In order to prepare for your session, we recommend a test run with a Discovery Commons technician. Please ensure you check off that you would like to meet with a technician in the form below.
Q: I am a lecturer and I’m also teaching a seminar right after, what should I do?
A: If this is an issue, please contact the seminar lead in order to identify a plan.
Q: Why do I need to upload my presentation at least 4 working days in advance?
A: This is to ensure that your presentation has no technical problems during delivery.
After submission, the presentation and any media will be tested, polling questions added, and any issues will be addressed. Because of the very full schedule of lectures, there is limited time for this testing to be carried out and hence the necessity of the 4-working day advance submission.
Your presentation will also be loaded onto a remote computer at the technician's location, ready to be deployed by them if your sharing of the screen fails at any time during your presentation.
Q: Where do I upload my slides?
A: Please use the UPLOAD link below.
Q: What are some faculty development resources available to me?
A: