Meetings are essential. They allow school administrators, faculty and staff to stay up to date and discuss school events, and provide time for professional development. In today’s world, we have to be creative and rethink how we conduct meetings. Virtual meetings are now the new normal, and it is time to begin thinking about how to integrate virtual and blended meetings into the new norm. Here are seven ways to get the most out virtual meetings:

Focus on Goals

Meetings, whether virtual or blended, must have focused goals that are pertinent and to the point. It is important to keep members of the meeting engaged, sticking to the agenda while also making sure they are retaining the information given. Be sure to respect everyone’s time by sticking to the bullet points, or you will have faculty and staff members multi-tasking and unfocused.

Utilize Group Chats and Breakout Rooms

Live virtual meetings can be conducted using tools such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or a Zoom. One of the best ways to get the most out of these meetings is to begin with everyone in one group chat. The meeting administrator can then break out grade-levels or smaller groups by having “breakout rooms” with channels or additional meeting links. The administrators are then able to pop into all of the meetings and check in for questions or concerns.

Engage Meeting Participants

Meeting admins can engage members of the meeting by integrating fun technology tools such as a Gimkit, Kahoot, or a Time to Climb game. This is also a great way to model for faculty and staff how to integrate these tools in their own class meetings online.

Implement Prerecorded Videos

Whether the meeting is in person or virtual, the meeting admin can prepare a pre-made video of important information for faculty and staff. This can be done with a screencasting tool or by starting a meeting in Microsoft Teams or Google Meet and record yourself presenting. This allows participants of the meeting to gather and process the initial information and ask in-depth questions when you meet in person. Add a Flipgrid link to the end to challenge participants to think deeper or host a dance off to build morale and school climate.

Garner Feedback

A simple way to get feedback before or after a meeting is through the use of a Google Form or Microsoft Form. The form will provide a way for meeting participants to ask questions and clarify their understanding of important meeting points.

Ensure Accountability

Integrating video or audio into a Nearpod is another fantastic way to conduct a meeting in a live session or flip a meeting using student-paced lessons. This tool will allow you to embed activities to gather teacher feedback and also integrate staff collaboration with specific ideas. The reports feature is a great way for participants to be held accountable for their participation.

Add Podcasts

Podcasting is another form of flipping meetings. Podcasting is something that participants could listen to while cleaning up their classrooms at the end of the day or in their cars on the ride home. Podcasting can provide faculty and staff with all the important information needed for the week or month. They can then follow up with their leadership team to ask clarifying questions or get the support they need.

This revolutionary time in education should be used to build a positive culture within the school. During this time, administration will model best practices while using educational technology tools to convey important information to others. As educators are being pushed out of their comfort zones, school leaders should focus on embracing our new normal to conduct quality and engaging meetings.