You’ve been teaching remotely now for what seems like forever. 

Have you learned a few things? Do you hate teaching online as much as everyone else does? 

Let’s be honest though, there are some positive elements of teaching remotely.  

• You get to stay at home.  No commute
• You can easily record your sessions over most platforms.
• You can teach students that live farther away and have more flexibility with your schedule

Even with those few positive elements, teaching remotely is not ideal.  It’s hard to work on repertoire, there’s a significant disconnect with the students.  “Zoom fatigue” is a real thing, and if you need to physically touch the student to help them figure something out, that’s just not possible. 

With the software platforms available, a few have come to the forefront that may help to enhance your experience.  I discussed many of them  in the first post of this series here. 

We won’t go over the setup for remote teaching again, but I want to present you with a few other options that frequently come up as I ask other educators, musicians, and performers what they are using to continue working remotely from home.  

 Sound Jack

 Sound Jack was a little known software program that had some niche application in the market but had not been widely developed or tested until this past year.  With the droves of musicians flocking to online instruction, it quickly became part of the conversation because it can indeed eliminate almost all latency.  When it works as intended, it’s like you’re in the room with another person and the results are exciting!  However, the software is still buggy and the setup is not very user friendly.  If you are willing to deal with those elements, then this is a game changer. I will be posting a tutorial in a future post on the ideal setup for Sound Jack, to ensure best results. 

Pros:

• No latency
• You can use a variety of interfaces and microphones to make it work. 
• There is online support and a robust online community to help you test connections and troubleshoot
• Regular updates that fix bugs and address user issues
• Works best when users are not on the same wifi network, but works well even users are separated by hundreds of miles. 

Cons:

• Not user friendly
• For optimal performance, does require the purchase of extra equipment
• Not always dependable, and doesn’t always work well on college campuses that regulate IP addresses and where users that may be connecting are on the same network. 

Clean Feed

Some call  Clean Feed the sophisticated version of Zoom or Skype.  Users claim the software is a little easier to use, more stable, and produces a better picture and audio quality than the other options. It does not eliminate latency, however, so don’t get excited about the prospect of  being able to play warm ups or repertoire for your student in real time.  You’re still going to need stellar bandwidth, and it’s subject to the same sorts of weaknesses as the other platforms.  However, many of the users that I’ve talked to, prefer it hands down over Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, and others. 

Pros:

• Reliable and stable
• Intuitive software and clean navigation and appearance
• Easy setup 
• No limit on time or the number of connections

Cons:

• You have to get the premium plan for the most stable and reliable experience
• Not a big enough difference for many users to justify the cost
• You can send or receive other audio into a session via extra software (Sunflower for MAC and Virtual Audio Cable for Windows)
• You will still have latency

Microsoft Teams

Teams may have flown blow the radar since it’s part of a massive suite of software that you may not even use, especially if you’re working on a Mac.  However, this app works beautifully for hundreds of users. Many report stable, secure, safe connections and it is seamlessly integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem, so that’s a plus! 

Pros:

• Excellent secure connection.  Mostly user friendly
• Works well with all the other Microsoft software, and works in the Apple Ecosystem
• Good, reliable connections, no extra equipment required
• Streamlined communication with the rest of the Microsoft Suite, best used with businesses and organizations

Cons:

• If you don’t already own the Microsoft software bundle, and don’t have an educator discount, this will set you back. 
• If you want to contact a user who is not on Microsoft Teams, it may not be possible to call them through the app if your institution prohibits making private calls through the app
• There is supposedly a free version but I have had no success getting it to work.  It keeps linking me to Skype which is also compatible with Microsoft Teams, or asking me to sign my Buisness up to use Teams. 

GotToMeeting

Go to Meeting is very popular with a lot of big companies.  In recent years, before Zoom came along, it was the the preferred conferencing software  for most of the professionals I knew in the corporate world. It’s not flashy and there’s no real standout feature that sets it apart from other software, but it’s still in the game. 

Pros:

• There is a free version with a 40 min limit
• Substantial call recording capabilities
• Users report better picture quality than other platforms, especially Zoom
• Slightly lower price point than the entry level subscription on some other platforms
• Ease of use, easy setup and familiar to anyone who has been using conferencing software

Cons:

• Some users report spotty audio and less than stellar customer support
• Users report trouble entering and re-entering meetings
• No real advantage over more familiar platforms and lower-priced options