Facilitating discussion in a virtual classroom requires active management of multiple communication channels.
Microphone Management
Control who speaks and when:
- Mute all — silence all participants before starting a discussion
- Unmute selectively — call on students by unmuting them or asking them to unmute
- Lock microphones — prevent viewers from unmuting themselves (useful for large classes)
See Manage Users for microphone controls.
Raise Hand Queue
The raise hand feature creates an orderly discussion flow:
- Students click Raise Hand to signal they want to speak
- Raised hands appear in the user list in the order they were raised
- Call on students in order to keep things fair
- Ask students to lower their hand after speaking
See Raise Hand.
In large classes, announce “raise your hand if you want to respond” before opening discussion. This prevents everyone from unmuting at once.
Chat Monitoring
Use public chat as a parallel discussion channel:
- Monitor for questions while presenting
- Encourage students to post questions in chat during lectures
- Pause periodically to address chat questions verbally
- Use chat for quick informal polls (“type yes/no in chat”)
See Send Public and Private Chat Messages.
Clearing Chat
If the chat becomes too noisy or off-topic, moderators can clear the public chat:
See Clear the Public Chat.
Discussion Strategies
| Strategy | How | Best For |
|---|
| Think-Pair-Share | Breakout rooms → return to main room | Deep discussion |
| Rapid Response | Type answers in public chat | Quick checks |
| Moderated Q&A | Raise hand → unmute → speak | Formal discussions |
| Backchannel | Chat alongside lecture | Continuous engagement |
| Anonymous Input | Polls or shared notes | Sensitive topics |
