Trouble logging in to your online classes? Struggling to see or hear your teacher and classmates? Weak internet connection warning popping up? You’re not alone… Read on for some top tips and tricks to ensure that you waste as little time as possible dealing with these irritating issues.

Ethernet cable

If there’s one pointer with regards to improving internet connectivity and your general online learning experience, it is undoubtedly the relatively small investment in an ethernet cable for huge rewards in return. Using wifi is comfortable and having class whilst on the sofa is amazing, but (and I’ll try not to get too technical here) wifi seriously affects the stability of your connection. Your internet provider may offer super high speeds, but the reality is far slower, when things such as wifi signals and walls come into the equation. Rather than being a constant speed, when connected to wifi we are much more likely to see huge fluctuations in speed. This can be due to distance from the wifi router, obstacles in between (this can include people simply moving through the house), bandwidth use by other household members and many other causes. Whilst not all of these problems can be solved through an ethernet cable, what the cable does do is create a much more stable connection to the internet, thus lowering the probability of connectivity issues to your online class.

Get as close as possible to the wifi router

Wifi works by emitting radio signals from your router, so if it’s impossible for you to get hold of an ethernet cable, at the very least you should consider being as close to the router as possible. Avoid walls and obstructions as much as feasibly possible. Placing the router high up in the room instead of in a cabinet behind the TV or under the table can also improve the connection because of the way that the router emits the radio signals.

Headphones to avoid echo

Using headphones allows you to clearly hear your teacher and fellow students. It also allows you to block out any background noise that you may have in your own surroundings. Headphones are also essential for preventing the uncomfortable echo caused when a video is played and the microphone sends back the recording from your device’s speakers. Another way of preventing this echo if you can’t get hold of headphones is by muting your microphone when the audio or video is playing.

Use a microphone

Have you ever noticed yourself shouting at the computer screen when in class? Perhaps you’ve noticed someone else in class that’s always louder than the rest? It’s actually very common to raise your voice when communicating online and it can lead to more than just annoyed neighbours if you do it for prolonged periods. Plugging in a microphone gives you the assurance that you are being heard by the rest of the class because of the close proximity of the device to your mouth.  If you’re spending a lot of time in online classes and videoconferences, using a microphone means that you can avoid straining your voice by shouting when communicating online.

Firewalls, VPNs and antivirus

If you use a corporate computer, it may well be configured with a firewall and VPN. Whilst this undoubtedly serves to keep you safer online, the flipside is that it can cause a wide range of connectivity issues, as it seeks to block what it incorrectly deems “dangerous traffic” the attempt to connect to your camera and audio coming from your online class. Temporarily disabling your firewall or VPN can work wonders for the stability of your online class experience. Antivirus and antimalware software sometimes cause issues too, sp safelisting the website of the platform you use can sometimes deal with these issues. Temporarily disabling firewalls and VPNs can also have a positive effect on your connectivity to the class. But whilst this may allow you to connect to your class more effectively, it also leaves your computer open to unwanted connections, so always remember to reactivate any disabled software as soon as you have finished class.

Browser

Whatever your opinion on Google or the Chrome browser, the reality is that it is the go-to browser for web development. What that essentially means is that the vast majority of websites and applications available online are designed and optimised for Chrome. Although many are also designed to work with other web browsers such as Firefox or Opera (depends on the website or platform), having Chrome installed in case things don’t work in your browser of choice is a good bet for making sure that you don’t miss out on class.

Understand how the platform deals with your internet traffic

Having video in your classes uses a lot of data. This is because your computer needs to upload your moving image constantly and download the video that other class members are uploading. How this is managed depends upon the settings and format of the “backend” of the platform. One way is that all participants (peers) upload the data to a central server and download the videos of all users at once. These same people also upload to the central server, putting less strain on each individual connection as this strain is borne by the central server. The other way is that all peers upload their own data to each participant and download the corresponding data from each individual peer, such that the data being sent and received by each node (technical talk for computer) is exponentially larger (see image). So what this clearly means is that your online class is going to put a large strain on your internet connection. Sharing your internet connection with others at home who enjoy watching online videos and online gaming is going to create a problem for each person trying to use the internet, with latency issues likely to cause a lag for all users. So bear that in mind when it comes to planning ahead for your class.

Some platforms “intelligently” detect when your internet connection is flagging and as a result automatically reduce video quality, all the way to completely disabling your video, quite rightly placing most importance on the voice communication remaining stable. Other platforms offer the ability to manage your video quality directly, whilst all platforms offer the ability to disable video, a key function if your internet connection is consistently unable to maintain a stable video stream.

Want to continue with your language learning, but find that you have no choice but to take your language class online? No problem. Read on for our key pointers to look out for when making your choice.

Interactive whiteboard

First things first, we need to realise where the similarities between face-to-face and online classes end and the differences begin. Aside from the obvious elements such as the physical distance from one another, the need for an internet connection and computer screen, a huge part of this modern learning experience is in the whiteboard. If there’s no whiteboard, then what differentiates an online class from a Zoom chat with your friends? We’ve come across whiteboards of all shapes and sizes during our extensive research, with a wide range of differences when it comes to functionality. At the very least, the whiteboard should allow the teacher to display a document (pdf, word, powerpoint etc) or image, along with the ability to annotate it with notes or scribbles as things come up in class. Being able to annotate in the same way as as a student is really useful when it comes to a fuller and richer learning experience, as you will be able to upload homework for correction or share an interesting article with the class and teacher.

Screen share

The ability to share whatever you are currently viewing on your device can be very useful in class, both as a teacher and as a student. The person sharing the screen can guide the rest of the class through a website, or a video in real-time (not all platforms offer the ability to simultaneously share sound and video, however), instead of taking a screenshot and viewing it that way. In terms of the student experience, it’s much more engaging to watch somebody navigate through a website than looking at a static version of a web page. The downside though, is that there’s no way to annotate something that’s live (you could take screenshots and use those on the whiteboard if there is one, but it’s a rather laborious method). Some platforms use a form of screen sharing as a whiteboard and the downfall is that it’s not editable in any way – you just see what’s on the screen and can’t make any on-screen notes.

Additional software

Does the system require any additional downloads or can you just access directly via your web browser? If you intend to use the same computer every class, then downloading software won’t cause too much of a problem. But if for whatever reason you don’t have access to the same device for every class, then not being able to just log in directly could cause an issue.

Compatibility

Related to the above, you may find yourself in a situation where you need to use a mobile device or a tablet to connect to class. Make sure you find out whether the platform is able to handle it and whether or not you need to download any additional software or apps to join the class.

Polls?

What’s the past participle of “to get”? Got? Gotten? Both depending on where you are in the world?!? What better way to find out than through an interactive poll. In some platforms, teachers are able to create polls on a given topic and let the class answer. This can be useful for correcting exercises as a class and adds an interactive and fun element to learning as you see the results come through.

Support in your language

The idea is that everything goes to plan and that there is no need for support or assistance, right? Well, yes of course, in an ideal world. In the event that you need some sort of assistance for whatever reason, take heed of the language. Luckily, most of the internet converses in English, so that’s useful as a means to practice your English in a real-world setting. However, when push comes to shove, it may well be worth considering a provider who can offer support in your language, so that you can be sure that you are on the same page when it comes to dealing with any of the administrative or technical issues that may arise.

Use of video and bandwidth constraints

We’ve tested a considerable amount of platforms (so that you don’t have to) and we’ve learned that video is the single biggest use of resources. By resources, what is meant is the strain on the internet bandwidth and the sheer amount of data being shared. You’re sharing your webcam and so is every other member of your class. To the less tech-savvy and without getting too technical, you basically have to upload your video, whilst simultaneously downloading the video of your classmates. Depending upon the design of the system you’re using, this will either be through a central server, or peer-to-peer (P2P). This and other issues are dealt with in more depth in another post that you can read here.

Platform demands and computer constraints

As we’ve seen, online classes are by their very nature heavily dependent upon a good internet connection. However, a super-fast, ethernet broadband connection on its own won’t provide you a great connection to your online class as this is also dependent on your computer. Having a computer updated with the latest browser and decent technical specs (such as processor, RAM, operating system) is important to complement your internet connection. Some platforms only function on Windows, so if you’re a Mac user, it’s important to check compability. The vast majority of platforms are designed to work with the Chrome browser, so whatever your personal opinion on the matter, it may be worth using Chrome to enjoy the best virtual class experience.