Video: Teachers - How to run your appointments over video call

This article tells you what to do when your Administrator has informed you that your appointments on an evening will be held via video call.

Requirements: In order to make video calls Parents and Teachers need to have as a minimum:

• a device with a microphone and speaker and a compatible web browser

We recommend:

• Using your smartphone for video appointments. If you don't have a smartphone with a front-facing camera, use a laptop or computer with a webcam.
• Using a headset (or earphones with a microphone) to reduce echo.
• Please use one of the following compatible web browsers:
  
  iPhone/iPad: Safari
  Android: Chrome or Firefox
  Windows: Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge (Chromium) - download here
  Mac: Safari, Chrome or Firefox
  Linux: Chrome or Firefox

Note: video calls are, by their nature, less flexible than face to face meetings and have fixed start and end times. They cannot overrun and will cut off at the end of the appointment slot. Because of this your administrator may wish to set up your appointments for a longer duration than normal. For example: many schools extend the normal length of their appointments and let teachers know about this extra time - meaning that the teacher can let the parent know an appointment will end a few minutes before the actually booked time, for note making purposes.

How to take your appointments over video call

1. Log in and go to the Evening

On the day of the video appointments, login to the system in the usual way (please see the main Teacher Guide for more details if you need them) and view the event in question.

Note: the screenshots below show the view on a computer/laptop. Mobile device screens will contain the same elements though they may be arranged for a smaller screen.

At the top of the page you will see a blue notice alerting you to the fact that your appointments will be via video and advising you when the first appointment is due.

As soon as you are within 60 minutes of the first appointment's start time the Join Video Appointments button will turn green and you can click on it.

2. The Video Call screen

When you click Join Video Appointments the video call screen will be displayed. You may at this point be asked if you wish to allow access to your camera/microphone, in which case please click yes.

On this screen you can see the following:

At the top left the parent name (and child details) for the current and next appointment, as well as whether that parent is currently online, offline, or in a call.

At the bottom the controls for the microphone and camera.

When a parent is available these also show a pick up and hang up button.

In the middle, when your appointment is due to start, the Start Appointment button.

3. Making a call

Click the Start Appointment button. You will see yourself in the bottom right corner of the screen (unless you have no camera, or have chosen to turn it off).

If the parent has not yet joined you will see a notice to that effect in the centre of the screen.

When a parent joins a call you will see them in the main part of the screen - or hear them, if they have no camera (or have turned it off) - and can start you discussion with them.

You will also see the remaining time for the appointment counting down in a blue bar at the top of the screen.

If you lose access to the system for some reason during the call, log in again and click Start Appointment on the video call screen. As long as the parent is still in the call this will let you continue with the appointment (this is the same for the parent if they lose their access).

When the countdown in the blue bar stops the appointment time is over and the call will automatically end.

Note that if a parent is late, or leaves and rejoins the call, it does not reset the timer.
The appointment will always end at the scheduled time.

4. Follow on calls

If you have a consecutive appointment scheduled the screen will display a Start Next Appointment button. When you are ready to proceed, click on it

Note that if you delay starting a call it does not extend the duration for that appointment.
The appointment will always end at the scheduled times.

If you do not have a consecutive appointment, but you have not completed your final scheduled appointment you will see a countdown telling you how long until the start of your next appointment.

Once your final appointment for the evening is complete you will see a message advising you of this.

When parents have joined a video call this is automatically recorded in the attendance report.