The usage of Zoom has gone up exponentially and most of us have probably used it one time or another while working remotely. Some new features have been added, including a Zoom add-in right on Outlook, to make scheduling and attending online meetings simple. Below are some tips to enhance your Zoom experience.
Log in to Zoom
Make sure to properly log in to Zoom. If you’re not logged into your UND Zoom account, you will be listed as a guest in Zoom meetings and some features may be unavailable (such as attendance and participation tools, and extended meeting sessions). For more information, see Connecting to a Zoom Meeting that Requires Log In.
Customize Your Chat Message
You can customize a personal chat message for your profile! It's a short note that appears at the top of your chat profile, and is visible to anyone who can see your profile page. You can change this text as often as you like, so it's perfect for communicating anything that changes frequently, such as current status. It may also be used to share a personal note, list a job title, or provide more detailed information about your availability; if you will be away from the computer for a while, you can let others know when you'll be back.
Change Your Background
The virtual background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom Meeting. You can learn more using Zoom’s step-by-step guide to changing your Zoom background on the desktop and mobile app. The basic steps are to go to Settings > Virtual Background and select or upload the image you want from there. UND Marketing and Communications has created some UND Themed Zoom Backgrounds for faculty, staff, and students to utilize during meetings and synchronous class sessions. Make sure that your system meets all of the requirements to do so. Note: this is a desktop client setting.
Customize Your Waiting Room
The Waiting Room feature allows the host to control when each participant is admitted into their meeting. It's enabled for guests by default, but it can be extended to include all users. Then you can add a title, logo, and text that meeting participants can see while they're waiting, which is great for logistical reasons; you can share a contingency plan, or just let your guests know that they're in the right place.
Mute Your Audio & Turn Off Your Camera by Default
Having to constantly mute audio and camera as soon as you enter a meeting can get old. Conserve bandwidth and eliminate background noises by turning those settings off by default. To do it when joining a meeting, go to Settings > Audio > Mute Microphone, and then Settings > Video > Turn off my video. Note: this is a desktop client setting.
Mute & Un-mute Yourself With the Space Bar
When you are called on to speak, you don’t have to scramble to click the microphone button - use Push to Talk instead! While your audio is on mute, you can simply press and hold the spacebar to quickly and temporarily unmute your mic. Your audio will be live only for the duration it's depressed - your microphone mutes again once the button is released. Note: The meeting window must be active (on top of any other open programs) for this feature to work.You can streamline the rest of your meeting experience with this list of Zoom keyboard shortcuts.
Turn on Gallery View
Instead of a focus on just the person speaking, Gallery view lets you see everyone in the meeting at once. To turn it on, click the tab that says Gallery view in the top-right corner of your meeting. If the meeting has 49 or fewer attendees, you’ll see everyone's video windows displayed on one page. If there are more than 49, you’ll have the option to move between multiple pages of thumbnails. Change it back by clicking Speaker View in that same top-right corner.
Hide Non-video Participants
In a larger meeting, your screen can get cluttered with participants, which can be distracting if some don’t have their cameras on. Hide the participants who aren’t using video by going to Settings > Video > Meetings, and check Hide non-video participants. Note: this is a desktop client setting.
Take Attendance
Record attendance data for any of your Zoom sessions automatically using one of these methods:
- Require registration to join your meeting and generate a roster- Available for both meetings and webinars, Zoom's registration tool can be set to automatically accept everyone, or you can manually approve each participant to regulate class attendance. Registration questions may be customized, and the answers collected are saved for a limited time after the meeting has ended. You can then generate custom reports to verify actual attendance against preliminary sign-ups, or simply download a list of attendees.
- Use an in-meeting poll to collect attendance data - Simply launch a poll during class, and when students answer, their names will be recorded along with their answers. You can later export that poll report and check the responses for a record of who attended your class.
- Note - For optimal functionality of either tool, users must be logged in using their UND Zoom account (single sign-on to und.zoom.us using their NDUS.identifier) prior to joining the session.
Share Your Screen
If you've ever tried to watch a video clip with your class by playing and sharing the video maximized on your screen, you may have noticed some choppiness or lag - but you can prevent this annoying problem! Zoom can optimize screen sharing for a full screen video clip to ensure the attendees have the best quality experience. Make sure that you have a fast connection, with upload speeds adequate for transferring a HD video stream (1.5Mbps uplink). To share a video with sound, be sure to check the option when selecting your window.
Zoom allows for iOS screen sharing from iPhone and iPad when connected to a computer running the Zoom desktop client. iOS Screen Mirroring allows you to wirelessly share your iPad or iPhone's screen with your Mac or PC, or you can use a cable to connect with a Mac. Connecting this way allows you to attend a Zoom meeting from your computer, then connect an iOS device to share apps, videos, or other content from the iPhone/iPad. Alternatively, you can also skip the computer and simply share your iOS device's screen when joining straight from the iPad or iPhone!
You can find more information about sharing your screen, including using dual monitors and annotation on a digital white board on Zoom's help page.
Give Scheduling Privilege to Someone Else
You can allow someone else to schedule meetings and webinars on your behalf in Zoom. If you allow one or more Zoom accounts to have scheduling privilege over your account, this will also make them an alternative host for any meetings or webinars you schedule. This is a good option if you have a colleague such as an administrative assistant who you would like to help you manage your Zoom meetings and webinars. To give this privilege, follow the steps below:
- Type in the email address of the assigned scheduler(s). Use commas to separate multiple email addresses.
Schedule a Meeting for Someone Else
Once you have been granted scheduling privilege, you can schedule for another person:
- Go to the Zoom client.
- Log out and log in again (one time only).
- Click on Schedule and then click on Advanced Options.
- In order to schedule for someone else, check the Schedule for: box and select another individual.
Outlook Integration: Scheduling Meetings & Sharing Calendar/Contacts
You can schedule your Zoom meetings directly from your regular Outlook calendar, just like a standard appointment or meeting. Install the Zoom Add-in (available for Mac, PC, and Outlook's web app) and you can easily add a Zoom meeting to any new or existing calendar event. The integration is compatible with scheduling privileges, so others can schedule on your behalf, directly from their own Outlook calendar. Note: for continued application support, we recommend installing the Add-In (not the Plug-In) version of the integration.
You can also sync your Zoom calendar and contacts with your Google Calendar, Office 365, and Exchange accounts. This allows Zoom meetings and webinars from your email calendar to be sent to Zoom, so you can join them directly from the Zoom web page. Your email contacts can also be synced, saving you the time it would take to enter them into Zoom manually.
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