Yo!Zone Features

Yo!Zone offers various features aimed at making classes more interactive and easier to conduct, benefitting both tutors and yosers. This article explains the main features all tutors should be familiar with.

• Call background effect

You can select a special background to make your sessions more engaging and fun. Set this up before the start of your session by going into your video settings and ticking the “Add a call background effect” box. You will then see different backgrounds available to choose from. Occasionally, festive backgrounds will be offered for special events or seasons of the year.

You can change your background at any time or opt not to have one by unticking the box. Please note that this feature can degrade call quality if you are using an outdated browser or operating system. It can also affect the performance of slower computers.

• Session information and timer

Once you enter the Yo!Zone, you will see a timer counting down to the session start time. When the session starts, the timer will switch to show the time remaining in the session. You will also see some basic information about your yoser.

• Tabs

Tabs allow you to have multiple content tabs open simultaneously. This simplifies accessing and switching between additional content during a session, which can help with explanations and provide a better lesson flow.

At the beginning of each class, the material chosen by the yoser in advance is loaded automatically into tabs. You'll also find a convenient link to that material under the “+” menu at all times during the lesson.

The tabs menu is also where you can add new tabs for additional materials, tools, and resources. For example, if you want to use a whiteboard to explain something during a Daily News session, you can open it in a new tab and switch between them easily.

Clicking on the dictionary or embedded images within materials will open them in a new tab automatically. Similarly, images and PDFs uploaded to the chat will also open in a new tab when you click on them.

• Shared navigation and selection (highlighting)

Navigating to another page in the Yo!Zone will take everyone on the session page to that same page by opening a new tab. This ensures that you and the yoser are always viewing the same material, reducing confusion during sessions. Clicking on the titles of exercises within lessons can also be used to guide your yoser to the specific part of the page you are on.

Key features of shared navigation:

• Shared view and navigation apply only to the session page, meaning the yoser will not know if you navigate around different browser tabs or computer apps.
• The yoser's view will not be affected if you scroll up or down the page.
• The yoser's view will only be affected when you click on an exercise number or move to a different page within the session page.
• The tutor’s copy of the materials and all additional information meant for tutors only cannot be seen on the yoser's side.
• When one person selects a part of the text in the material, the other person will see that text highlighted on their end. Use this feature to ''point" to words and phrases or to ask yosers to read specific parts of an article.

• Screen sharing

While shared navigation is helpful in many situations, it may also be necessary to explore external resources such as articles and YouTube videos along with yosers. In these cases, tutors have access to a useful screen-sharing feature.

To get started with screen sharing, click the “+” icon and select Screen Sharing, as shown below.

• Whiteboard

This feature allows for shared activities with yosers during a session. To access the whiteboard, select it from the "+" dropdown menu. You can exit this feature by closing its tab.

Both tutors and yosers can use the different tools offered here, including pens, erasers, shapes, etc. Everything that is written on the whiteboard during the session can be downloaded anytime.

• Drawing tool

This feature allows both tutors and yosers to draw over PDFs and images in the materials and dictionary. It has the same tools and functions as the whiteboard. The key difference is that the drawing tool can be used on any image or PDF material on the session page, as it will be done in a different tab.

• Dictionary

This feature allows you to look up words while staying on the session page. Many (but not all) definitions include audio for pronunciation guidance and example sentences. However, this feature has a more limited selection of vocabulary compared to a typical dictionary.

This is a shared activity, so yosers will see a red notification dot on the dictionary icon when you use this feature, allowing them to follow along. Shared highlighting works within the dictionary as well. The dictionary feature is available before the start of the session and remains accessible after the session ends.

• Chatbox

The chatbox is an important feature that you will use throughout your session. It helps you and your yosers to communicate ideas, explain vocabulary, etc.

The chatbox is enabled once the session starts. You can edit or delete the messages you send in the chatbox. Simply hover your mouse over the message you want to change and choose whether to edit or delete it.

To share images with yosers, you can upload them, use copy and paste, or drag and drop the image into the chatbox.

You can also send multi-line messages to your yosers. To add more lines, press Shift + Enter.

• Notes

This feature allows all participants in the call to collaboratively edit text. Think of it as a simple notepad that you and yosers can write on freely. It can be useful for explaining sentence structure or proofreading something for the yoser. However, if you don’t find it helpful for a particular session or a yoser, it’s perfectly fine not to use it.

• Session recording

Our system automatically saves audio recordings of all sessions. It can be useful for reviewing previous sessions, checking your teaching style, etc.

After your session is over, an audio player will appear on the session page, allowing you to listen to the recording. Yosers can also access the recording on their end.

The audio player includes playback tools such as Skip Back (10 seconds) and Skip Forward (10 seconds). It also has a Playback Speed tool that lets you choose a slower or faster playback speed.

You can listen to the entire session or skip to specific parts by scrolling the playback to your preferred time. The recording timestamp shows your local time.

The recordings are saved on the session page and can be downloaded at any time.

• Session recording

Audio playback is shared between a tutor and a yoser in a call. This includes:

1. Synchronized audio playback: When someone starts an audio track, everyone in the call hears it simultaneously — even "tutor only" content.
2. Synchronized controls: Audio controls will also be shared, allowing users to pause, resume, skip to different sections, or adjust playback speed. Controls are synced for tutors and yosers.
3. One sound at a time: Only one audio track can play at a time. If you or the yoser starts a new track, the old one stops automatically. The audio will even keep playing if the user who started it switches tabs, but stops when they close the tab.
4. Unmute notifications: If someone else starts audio, an "Unmute" notification will appear if the browser initially blocks the sound. Clicking "Unmute" allows playback.
5. Joining mid-playback: If someone joins a call with audio already playing, it will start playing for them from the current point, skipping past parts they missed.