https://www.indiatoday.

in/education-today/featurephilia/story/here-are-tips-for-
online-classroom-etiquette-all-you-need-to-know-1807553-2021-05-27

Schools going virtual and all students' classes being online classes have likely
been a part of your daily school routine for some time now. Online Classroom
Etiquette is a whole new ball game compared to physical school for students.

To help you keep online teaching productive and professional, follow these
seven simple online classroom etiquette rules and tips:

1. Leave the keyboard alone

Whether you’re diligently taking notes or sneakily chatting with your bestie, the
sound of your typing is distracting. It’s not only distracting everyone else in the
meeting (because your laptop’s internal microphone is inches away from your
keyboard), it’s also preventing you from devoting your full attention to the
meeting. Opt for a quality headset or pick up your notebook and pencil or pen to
take notes.
 Please don't make keyboard noises which taking notes
 Refrain from searching other mediums like watching a movie on YouTube
while you are on a long Zoom meeting or webinar
 Keep your writing stationery ready in advance
2. Dress appropriately
Dresses professionally take a few minutes to throw on your uniform. The best
part of actually getting into your uniform while online schooling remotely is that
you’ll put yourself in the right head space to be productive.
 Wear your uniform
 Look presentable
 Make sure your hair is well groomed
3. Be aware of your surroundings
Your co friends won’t be able to hear your ideas or take you seriously when there
is a pile of dirty clothes in the corner behind you. You also want to avoid looking
like you work from the inside of a cave because of bad lighting. Adjust your work
setup so that you face a window or are exposed to plenty of light. And make sure
your background is professional and work appropriate! This means:
 No beds (unmade or made) in the background
 No messy rooms or open closets where everyone can see your clutter
 Please make sure the background is clear
 No younger kids crying or screaming in the background
 No pets barking or chirping on the background
 Please kindly create a professional background for your webinars
4. Mute your microphone when you’re not talking
 There’s nothing more frustrating than hearing that alien echo noise from
conflicting microphones. Save everyone from the ear-splitting madness by joining
the meeting while on mute!
Unless you live alone, your house is probably pretty noisy these days. Muting
your microphone when you’re not speaking gives other participants the ability to
chime in and share their thoughts without distraction or frustration.
 Keep your microphone always muted
 Please inform your colleagues if you have an audio problem

https://www.cmseducation.org/onlinetimetables/etiquetteforonlinclasses.html

Online etiquette for Teachers

 The teachers should be punctual and dressed up formally while taking online classes.
 Teachers must use an email profile picture that is appropriate for an education environment.
 The teacher must set a protocol and decorum in the classroom of what is expected from the
students - their conduct and classroom discipline.
 The teacher should keep his/her work environment free from distraction like noise of television,
incoming calls etc.
 The attendance should be taken for each period by the teacher.
 The teaching-learning time should be used judiciously to make the class effective.
 The teacher should be well-prepared and well-versed with the topic knowing all the nitty-gritty
details as she is being listened to by the parents too and the students tend to put up more queries and the
teacher should be able to answer them.
 The teaching aids may be kept ready beforehand to avoid wastage of time during the class.
 Any teaching aid (in the form of written matter or some objects) should have clarity (legible
handwriting for written matter) and should be shown properly.
 The teacher should strictly refrain from speaking in Hindi.
 The teacher should leave the meeting only after the children have left (Signed Out).
 Teachers must use laptops for teaching, in case they need to use their mobile phones they should
use earphones to keep their hands free to show any action (segmentation and blending) or any teaching aids
if required while teaching also should place mobile phones in a stable platform, so that the Point of View is
not compromised.
 During the entire teaching period the teacher should keep her video on and should be visible to the
learners at all times.
 Alternatively, the screen can only be used if there is any screen sharing or any teaching aid to be
shown. All other times the teacher should be in face to face interaction.
 The teacher may plan the teaching periods in such a way that she divides them into synchronous and
asynchronous learning. During online teaching any written work or learning assignment should be given in
 asynchronous teaching-learning time in order to reduce the screen time for the learners as well as the
teachers.
 The teacher must have a closing activity - to allow students to reflect on the content taught
(recapitulation).
 Every teacher should guide the learners to do eye exercises every day after attending the online
classes.
 The assignments (Homework/ Projects) must be practical and accomplishable for the learning
outcomes (Date and Time of submission must be clear).
 Teachers must ensure her visibility is clear with a stable background, so that there is no distraction
for the students.

8. Do Not Record the Meeting 

With capable workstations now at every student’s disposal, some students may be
able to record the entire meeting for their benefit later on. While it may be 

helpful to the students to record the meeting and go over it in their time, it may not go
over so well with the teachers. The professors may use confidential information in
their lecture slides which may become available to students if the meeting itself is
recorded. To avoid any such scenario, students must consider recording meetings only
when permitted to do so.

1. Maintain Punctuality 
It is important that as a student you are a tad bit early for your online live lecture in
order to set up your equipment and make sure everything is working flawlessly. With
professors adjusting to a new format, it is possible that the teaching time may differ
depending on the difficulties experienced during the lectures given the online setting.
Hence, it would be helpful to be on time for the meetings and make the best use of the
time allotted for the lectures. 

2. Set up in a Professional Space 

Zoom meetings offer participants the choice to keep their video output on or off.
Based on the situation, a student may be required to switch their video on. During
such times, it is important that their background is not distracting in nature and does
not cause any added disruptions. Hence, it is advisable for students to set up in a
professional yet comfortable setting. A professional setting will also help students
focus on the lectures as opposed to being inattentive. The space must be well lit for
clear video output. If a real professional space is unavailable, students are especially
encouraged to use one of the many professional backgrounds that the applications
offer. An example of a customizable professional background is shown below. 

3. Dress Appropriately 
To maintain a sense of seriousness and professionalism, students must dress
appropriately for their lectures. With most students attending the meetings from the
comfort of their homes, house wear can often be deemed unprofessional for others.
This may divert the attention of other students from the seriousness of the classroom
while also being disrespectful towards the professor. Hence, even though casual
clothing may seem fine, students must opt out of wearing house wear such as PJs. 

4. Be Patient 
Given the online setting and the use of electronic devices, members of the meeting
may experience disruptions. It is possible for the participants to experience network
issues, equipment issues, etc. Students must be patient in such scenarios and allow the
person experiencing problems to fix their issue without being disrespectful and
hostile. 

5. Speak Clearly and When Required To 

With most microphones, it is a possibility that surrounding noise may be picked up
pretty easily. These serve as a disturbance for the other students in the meeting and
may cause them to lose focus. To avoid this situation, most students should turn off
their microphone and must only enable speech input when they do wish to or are
required to speak. 

When a student does want to speak, he/ she must first inform the entire class of their
desire to speak with the “Raise Hand” functionality offered by most video
conferencing applications. This will signal to the professor and other members that
you wish to speak and you should wait for your chance patiently.

Once offered the chance to speak, students must be articulate in their speech and must
ensure that their voice sounds crisp and clear for the others to hear. 

6. Avoid Multitasking 
Given the homely setting of the meetings, students may be urged to multitask while
attending the online lectures. Any number of chores can be performed while being
online for the classroom lectures, some of which include house chores, playing games
or speaking with roommates. Students must however be mindful of the professor’s
time and efforts while also keeping in mind their responsibilities towards their fellow
students and avoid multitasking at all costs. 

7. Avoid Inappropriate Use of Chat Functionality 

As explained above, the applications used for these online classrooms do indeed
provide features for chatting while the meeting is ongoing. This is necessary in most
cases when resources such as links need to be shared or to be used when speech is not
clear. 

However, it may so happen that students may take undue advantage of this feature and
have casual conversations amongst themselves. Such behavior substantially interferes
with the productive environment for the classroom. With the many other issues
students are likely to encounter during this online structure of teaching, distractions
caused by fellow students should be avoided and hence, the chat functionality must
only be used for its intended purpose. 

8. Do Not Record the Meeting 

With capable workstations now at every student’s disposal, some students may be
able to record the entire meeting for their benefit later on. While it may be 

helpful to the students to record the meeting and go over it in their time, it may not go
over so well with the teachers. The professors may use confidential information in
their lecture slides which may become available to students if the meeting itself is
recorded. To avoid any such scenario, students must consider recording meetings only
when permitted to do so. 

9. Avoid Plagiarism 
A highlight of the online structure for classrooms has been the manner in which
examinations are now conducted. Professors are now forced to change the formats for
most examinations and often release papers with some time limit for the students to
complete. This format is considerably different from a conventional exam where the
professor is able to monitor the students while the exam takes place. With the online
structure, professors cannot monitor the students in any way, opening the doors for
students to cheat and plagiarize answers. Such practices are highly disrespectful and
have adverse effects and must be avoided at all costs. 
The shift to online classrooms has been a new endeavor for both the professors and
students. Given the current spread of the virus, this online methodology for education
may be followed for quite some time in the near future. There are some advantages
that are associated with this method of teaching as well. It does greatly increase the
convenience for both parties involved while at the same time substantially reducing
the risk factor of getting infected by the virus. With sufficient time and improved
resources, it may be possible for universities to make the shift permanent from in-
person classrooms to online classrooms. Whether or not this step is taken however,
remains a decision for the future. 

In the meantime, it must be noted that adjusting to and making the best use of this
learning experience will take time. There is certainly a learning curve associated with
this structure and one which must be figured out by each and every student alike.
Abiding by the above mentioned etiquettes will go a long way in making this journey
beneficial for the students. If followed, these rules will also help the professors in
creating a professional and productive learning environment for the students. 

With considerable time and effort being put in to adjust with the multitude of changes
in our daily lives, following the above outlined etiquettes accounts for very less effort
in making the shift to online classrooms easier and guarantees to provide a fruitful
learning experience. 

https://sites.uci.edu/graduateinterconnect/2020/10/01/online-classroom-etiquette/