Moving a curriculum online, what tech can help?

The consensus here seems to be to have all cameras on at the start, to get some sociability into the class. Have a presentation for 20m max. Cameras are off all the time otherwise unless a student needs to chat with the teacher, then they turn on. When on, the picture and ambient sound add little but distract a lot.
Get back together by the end of the class, with video and audio on.