How to Keep Students and Staff

Safe on Videoconferencing
Schools across the country are turning to videoconference platforms like Zoom,
Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangout to keep teachers connected to students
and staff members connected to each other. In many cases, educators don’t have
much experience navigating the complexities and pitfalls of those platforms.

Here’s what you need to know to use videoconference platforms effectively.

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Identify a designated school or district

videoconferencing platform.
Some districts already have existing relationships with online videoconference
providers. In those cases, individual staff members should default to using
those platforms, even if they had already set up personal accounts.

District contracts with videoconference providers typically have outlined Take precautions against hacks and breaches.
restrictions on how and under what circumstances the company can collect
and share student data. Especially for platforms like Zoom that haven’t been The “Zoombombing” phenomenon has schools on edge about the possibility
designed with education privacy laws and norms in mind, it’s important for of students being exposed to inappropriate and disruptive content during class.
schools to proactively advocate on behalf of their users. Several states have School staff and board meetings have also been targeted.
lists of vetted education technology products for districts and schools to
consider if they don’t have videoconferencing plans in place. Here are some steps to take to minimize that risk:

l Avoid sharing virtual meeting links on public platforms like social media.
l Plus, school IT departments will appreciate only having to answer
questions about one designated platform. l Require a password for users to enter a meeting. Change that password
as frequently as feasible.

l If you’re the host, be ready to disable a user’s audio or video, or kick
them out of the meeting entirely if they’re causing a problem.

Create a districtwide plan with rules l Choose the “invite-only” option for virtual meetings when possible.
for teacher-student interactions. Once everyone who’s invited has joined the meeting, use the “lock”
function to keep uninvited guests out.
Each school district will have a different approach to regulating
l Disable private chat functions to prevent individual users (like students)
videoconferences. Experts say it’s important that that approach, whatever
from branching off into separate conversations during the virtual
form it takes, is written down and clearly communicated to teachers and
meeting.
other staff members, as well as parents.

Some questions to consider: l If you do get Zoombombed or hacked, focus first on kicking the person
out or even shutting down the meeting temporarily if necessary. Once
l How much time should teachers spend per day (or class period) talking
that’s done, notify your school or district technology team, and get
to students via videoconference?
back to your students or colleagues to discuss what happened.
l Are teachers allowed to interact via videoconference with individual
students? l You can also report videoconferencing hack incidents to the FBI’s
Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
l Are teachers allowed to, or required to, record videoconferences with
their classes? With individual students?

l If yes to the above question, are they required to tell students and
parents ahead of time, or secure written permission? Use some simple strategies to improve the
l How should teachers communicate with parents about expectations for experience for everyone.
their students during videoconferences?
Videoconference meetings can be chaotic, especially when they involve
l How should teachers dress during videoconferences with students? large groups of people.
With colleagues?

l Participants should mute their audio if they’re not talking. This will
minimize unwanted feedback and noise pollution from people’s home
Be extra careful when recording students background noise.
and collecting their information. l Choose the view that suits you: A gallery of all the participants, or
one person’s face at a time. If you prefer the latter, pin the host of the
Students should be creating as few new accounts with their information—
meeting (the teacher or the principal).
name, email address, age, address, etc.—as possible. Students should be
advised to avoid using their full name on the display for a videoconference l Use earbuds with a microphone to improve your audio.
session. And schools should give parents and students ample opportunity
l Turn off the video if you need to for any reason. For instance, on an
to opt-out of being on camera or providing identifying information.
iPhone, you can swipe right on Zoom to automatically turn your video
off without pressing a button.
Teachers concerned about privacy may choose to only record class sessions
in which students’ audio and video are turned off. They can then create l Explore the other features of your videoconference platform. For
separate videoconference sessions that aren’t recorded for students to instance, Zoom has tools for sharing a whiteboard and offering
interact after a recorded lecture. nonverbal feedback (like raising your hand).

Sources: Linnette Attai, CEO of PlayWell; Cheri Kiesecker, co-chair of

the Coalition for Student Privacy; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the
Berkeley Information Security Office