1. Use a laptop or desktop computer for the class meetings, not a tablet or your phone. If you need a better computer than the one you have, you can borrow one from the library. Instructions for doing this are here.

2. You have to have your video turned on during the entire class period. You should be sitting at a desk or a table, and your face should be in the video. (I shouldn’t be looking at your ceiling or just your forehead).

3. You shouldn’t be doing anything else besides being in the class meeting. Don’t go to other websites, put your phone away, and don’t talk with anyone who is in the room with you.

4. You can use Webex by running the app in your browser (Chrome or Firefox or whatever you use), but downloading the desktop app is better. You can download it here. Select “Webex app.” There are downloads for mac and pc. (And for phones, but you need to be on a computer.) Once you have the software installed, sign in with your Mississippi State email address.

Currently, you still need to join the meeting by selecting “Join” from the Cisco Webex page on the coure’s Canvas site. But if you have the Webex app installed, the meeting should open in the app. (In the past, the class meetings were listed in the app and you could directly join from there, but, at the moment, there is a syncing issue with Canvas and Webex.)

5. In addition to having a servicable computer, you need to have decent internet. It doesn’t have to be super high speed, but you can’t just use the data from your phone plan. Not having a strong enough internet signal will cause you problems in the class meetings and problems using Honorlock when you take the tests. (We can deal with problems that arise, but encountering a problem with your internet connection while you are taking a test can be tricky to sort out. It’s best to take steps to avoid this problem in the first place.)

Go here to do an Honorlock system check: https://app.honorlock.com/support/msr-check. Clicking on “Run System Check” only checks your operating system and browser. You have to select “Test Internet Speed” and verify that you get, at least, 1.5 Mbps for download and 750 Kbps for upload.

6. If you can, it would be good to use an ethernet cable to connect your computer directly to your modem or router rather than using wifi. If, for some reason, that’s not possible, put your laptop as close to your modem as possible, and try not to have any other data intensive tasks using your wifi (even if they are on a different computer) during a Webex meeting.

7. There may be times when you have to share your screen. To do that, you select “Share” (or the rectangle with an arrow pointing up) in the center of the buttons at the bottom of the Webex app.
You shouldn’t have anything besides Webex and maybe Canvas open during the class meetings anyway, but, since you don’t want to accidently share anything personal with the rest of the class, for that reason also, you should have everything else on your computer closed.

8. Your video has to be on during class meetings. (The meetings won’t be me lecturing and you sitting out there anonymously.) You will also be expected to speak during the meetings, and for that you’ll have to unmute yourself. There may be times when you can stay unmuted, but generally, during class meetings, you’ll have to mute-unmute repeatedly. (I will be unmuted the whole time.)

9. There is a ‘raise hand’ feature in Webex, but I probably won’t notice it if you use it. If you have a question or want to answer a question, you can just start speaking.

10. The more you use Webex, the more comfortable you’ll be using it. We can work out the technical issues as we go along, but keep in mind that the more prepared you are for class, the more smoothly everything will go.