Using Webex

WebEx is available to all students and faculty who are enrolled at the University of Cincinnati.  Below is a provided list of things that customers can do with WebEx along with links to tutorials.

WebEx is a web-based conferencing tool that allows users the ability to host a variety of events, from small group meetings or virtual office hours to large webinars or conferences. Participants can share files, documents, and/or videos, while also accessing a shared whiteboard that can be used for online illustrations. WebEx allows faculty and staff the ability to host meetings for up to one thousand participants at any time or place. Students will also be granted accounts that allow them to schedule online meetings and collaborate with up to 25 other participants at a time. To see a quick demo on WebEx, please watch the WebEx tutorial video below.

How do I access Webex? Here is a WebEx Login Guide with instructions for logging into WebEx.

Never Used Webex?  See the WebEx Faculty/Staff Hosting Guide to set up your call. Replace with your text

Have a question about WebEx? See the WebEx FAQ page. 

• Use screen sharing within WebEx to make sure discussion questions are visible to students who may have a slow Internet connection or who may struggle to hear the audio for the initial question. See the WebEx Screen Sharing Guide.

 Suggestions: 

1. When sharing a screen, use Chat to share messages to and from participants. This is a quick way of identifying problems, answering questions, etc.
2. Use the annotate option to highlight or write on a shared screen.
   Note: You need to be logged into WebEx in order to access any WebEx functionality.

• Use the chat – See WebEx Participant Panel and Chat use Guide
  • Moderate discussion, i.e., “call on” a student with a comment to speak, to help them break into the conversation.
  • You might use the chat to troubleshoot technical problems. For example, if a student is having trouble connecting via audio or video, the chat might be a space for you as the instructor or for fellow students to work together to problem-solve. This may, again, be an opportunity to assign a student to a special role, especially if you have students eager to help on the technical aspect of things.

• Use WebEx Whiteboard – See WebEx Whiteboard Guide
  • Using whiteboards visually conveys the message you’re trying to get across. You can share and edit any whiteboard during a meeting. Sharing live lets everyone in the meeting see and work on updates to the whiteboard together in real time.

• Rethink your classroom activities to make the class more interactive even if WebEx students don’t have ideal connections and aren’t able to hear and see everything perfectly.
  • Have students write and comment together on a shared Onedrive Doc.
  • See OneDrive FAQs

• Consider making discussion questions available in advance in Canvas, etc. so that students can access the questions if screen sharing does not work. If sharing slides in advance to Canvas, share as PDFs, as students will be able to access the material on their phones. 

• Having student hosting WebEx meetings
  • The student instance of WebEx allows for up to 1000 participants in a WebEx sessions. Students that need to host group projects, student presentations or larger conferences will have the ability to invite as many people as needed. 

• If your microphone is not working, use the phone number listed in the WebEx invitation when you set up a WebEx call. You can use your phone as the microphone and audio source for your call rather than your computer’s built-in microphone if necessary.
• If your Internet connection is slow or lagging, consider temporarily turning off your video stream and only maintaining the audio stream. Sometimes, running the web camera on your computer will use up the Internet’s bandwidth in a way that might make communication challenging. Turning off the video should improve communication quality and consistency.
• If you have earbuds or a headphone set, wear them. Wearing earbuds or headphones will reduce the amount of noise that your computer will pick up during your quality, which will make it easier for your students to hear you. Similarly, you may want to advise your students to wear earbuds or headphones during the call.
• Advise students to mute their microphones if they are not speaking and unmute the microphones when they wish to speak. Students may be joining WebEx calls from all kinds of different locations, many of which may create background noise that could be distracting. Encourage students to mute themselves if they’re not speaking to minimize unnecessary or distracting background noise. Using the “raise hand” feature or simply seeing the microphone unmuted will give the group a visual cue for when a student wishes to speak.
• Check the “chat” space for student questions and contributions. Some students may not have working microphones and, therefore, may be unable to contribute via voice. The chat room is a good place for students to contribute, ask questions, and be involved.
• Check the WebEx Troubleshooting Guide

•  For students who are blind or have low visibility, narrate the material that you’re displaying visually on the screen. Just as you might read materials aloud in class, read screen material that you share on-screen just in case students are not able to see essential text.

Learn More: WebEx Personal Room, WebEx Participant Guide, Teaching with WebEx