|
|
|
## Voice/video chat with students: talky.io
|
|
|
|
It is possible to use https://talky.io to set up voice chat with individual students / student groups. Students can share their computer screen and/or use a webcam to show their solutions, while discussing it with the TA as normal. It is essentially the closest to a normal physical TA->student interaction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is not too difficult to set up, but does require students to have at least a working microphone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
### How does it work for students?
|
|
|
|
The student goes to https://talky.io, and clicks the button "start a chat". They then make a request in the Queue with the link to their chat in the comment field.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
### How does it work for TAs?
|
|
|
|
The TA gets a request from Queue as normal, clicks on the link, which makes them join the call with the student. They can then talk to/help the student as they normally would.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
### How to set it up for a teacher?
|
|
|
|
Ensure Queue is set up as normal. Post an announcement on Brightspace with the explanatory message, like the example below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
### Message to students - individual questions
|
|
|
|
This course gives you the option to have video/voice chats with TAs during the lab session. For this we use talky.io, a website which should work on any platform and modern browser and does not require an account. Talky.io does not store any information after the call has ended. Talky uses so called rooms which people with the link can join. However, we will use the rooms for single-person communication.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The process will work as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Go to https://talky.io , **leave the room name empty** and click on start a chat. You will get a random, unique room name, which ensures there is an unique room per student.
|
|
|
|
* Ensure that at least your microphone and speaker are working. You can click 'share screen' to share your screen or an application. You do not need to have a camera, but if you feel it is helpful, you can also share your camera.
|
|
|
|
* Copy the URL of the talky.io page to clipboard.
|
|
|
|
* Ask a question on Queue as normally, **adding your talky.io link in the comment field**.
|
|
|
|
* A TA will join the conversation when they are ready to handle your request. **You will hear a sound whenever the TA joins, so ensure your volume is at an appropriate level**.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Requests will be handled as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* If you do not include the Talky url, are not in the room, or do not respond within 1 minute, the TA will set your request to *not found*.
|
|
|
|
* If your Talky room contains more than 2 people, we will not handle your request and *reject* your request in the Queue.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is allowed to share the link to your room with at most one other student and have them listen in to the conversation if they have the same problem. However, there may only be one person with an active mic in a room. Only one person is allowed to ask questions per request.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issues:
|
|
|
|
* If your microphone is not working on windows, check the settings for allowing microphone usage: 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Experiences
|
|
|
|
For the Concepts of Programming Languages course we have used this approach and found that it works well. There were a few minor problems with microphones/screen sharing that did not work, but there were all resolved quite quickly or were resolved by rejoining the room. |
|
|
\ No newline at end of file |
