teaching in a mask
since the university has reinstituted universal masking for the spring semester, some of us will be teaching in the classroom in a mask for the first time or the first time in a while. this presents some auditory and other challenges, but there are strategies you can use to mitigate these challenges. here are a few strategies, drawn from more extensive resources on this topic from teaching centers at the university of michigan, wake forest university, and illinois state university.
- use a lavalier microphone that projects your voice within the classroom. if you need to verify that your classroom has a lavalier microphone available, please reach out to the vuit classroom technology team (av.support@vanderbilt.edu).
- if you don’t have a microphone, speak a little louder and a little more slowly than usual, and don’t face the chalkboard or whiteboard while talking.
- if you use slides while teaching, your slide program (powerpoint, google slides, etc.) might be able to generate automatic captions in real-time.
- check-in regularly with your students to make sure they can hear you and hear each other. this feedback could a quick thumbs up or a short survey.
- protect your voice, especially if teaching multiple times a day. give yourself regular voice breaks and drink plenty of water.
- create a short video introducing yourself and your course, without a mask. and hold at least some office hours on zoom, so you can talk with students without masks.
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