Introduction

You can add a link directly from your Blackboard course menu to the Zoom meeting for that class, making it quick and easy for students to join with one click. Embedding the link directly in Backboard helps keep all of your course-relevant materials in one place, so students don't need to search through their email for the Zoom link - they can join directly from the course menu. There are two options when setting this up: you can create a new link that goes to a new meeting, or create a new link to an existing meeting (if you already have one set up). Please see below for step-by-step instructions for creating the Zoom link, or watch a video demonstration of the process. Note: if you follow the instructions in the video, but the tool link isn't available from the drop-down + menu, you first need to make Zoom - UND tool available in your course (see first four steps below).

Creating a Zoom Meeting Link in Blackboard

Set up a Zoom Session in Blackboard (Recommended Method)

• You must have a UND Zoom account first.  To create your free Zoom Pro account, log in with your NDUS identifier (same login as your email) at https://und.zoom.us/.
• Log in to Blackboard, and navigate to the course where you would like to add a link to Zoom.
• Make sure that the Zoom tool is turned on in your course: Under the Control Panel (within the menu on the left, near the bottom), select Customization > Tool Availability.

• Scroll to the bottom of the list to locate the Zoom - UND tool, and check the box to enable the tool (it may already be checked). Click Submit to save the selection. NOTE: The other Zoom tool, titled 'Zoom meeting', is the old version and can be left un-checked.

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• Within the course menu (top-left of the page), click the + option to add a Tool Link.

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• Provide the desired name for the Tool link (e.g. Zoom Meetings, Virtual Class Meetings, etc.). Click the drop-down next to Type: and select Zoom - UND at the bottom of the list. Check the box to make the link Available to Users, if you are ready for the link to be visible to students. Click Submit to create a Tool link to Zoom in the course menu.

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• Locate and move the Zoom tool link you created to the desired location within the course menu.

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• Click the new Zoom tool link to launch the Zoom LTI integration, where you will set up the details of your meeting and associate it with this link. The instructor or host must click this link first to set it up, before it will function properly for students. Then after this initial set up, the tool link will be how your students access the Zoom dashboard (which contains links to the course's meeting sessions).

Zoom Dashboard: Create or Import Meetings

• When you click the tool link and launch the Zoom LTI integration, it will open the Zoom Dashboard, where you can create and link a new meeting -or- select and link an existing one. Click Schedule a Meeting (in the upper-right), and the meeting set-up page will open -or- click the ⋮ (vertical ellipses) button to select an existing meeting to include as a link in your course's dashboard.

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When you create a new meeting with Schedule a Meeting:

• The title will be auto-populated with the Blackboard course's title, but it's customizable to help users differentiate between multiple meetings associated with the same course. When students click the Zoom tool link, they will see the Zoom dashboard as well, so make sure to give the meeting a descriptive title to identify the correct session!
• When setting up the scheduling details, be sure to check Recurring meeting if this meeting will be reused throughout the semester. If you are unsure of the time-frame in which this meeting will recur, you can select Recurrence - No Fixed Time, and the session will be available as long as the Blackboard course is available. Since the duration is not fixed, it will always be listed under your Upcoming Meetings.

• Edit any additional settings, and click Save (bottom left of the page). This will bring you to the Zoom receipt page. At this point, you can add polls, the meeting can be started, or you can go back to the Zoom dashboard (click 'Course Meetings' in the top-left) to see that the meeting link has been created and posted. The link is now available on this course's Zoom Dashboard.

Alternatively, you can link an existing meeting:

• In the top-right corner of the Zoom Dashboard, click ⋮ (Import Meeting) and you will be prompted to enter your 9 - 11 digit meeting ID code (can be found in your meeting details). Copy/paste the code in the prompt window, and click Import to make the meeting available from this course's link. The students will now be able to see a link to that meeting in the Zoom dashboard, by clicking the link you created in Blackboard.

Use the link:

• To start your meeting from Blackboard, click the Zoom tool link you created in the Blackboard course menu, locate the desired meeting, and click Start. This will automatically launch your Zoom desktop client and begin the meeting.

• To edit the settings for your Zoom session, log in to https://und.zoom.us/ and select the Meetings tab to locate your newly created meeting - the Topic should include the name of your Blackboard course. Click the name of the meeting, scroll down towards the bottom, and click Edit this Meeting, to make changes to the meeting settings. Polls can also be added at the bottom of this page. Note: Do not adjust the Time or Topic for your meeting if you created it through Blackboard. This could cause the link to your meeting within Blackboard to break.

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