Set-up Zoom in your Course and Zoom Basics

Zoom logo image

 

Zoom is used for for  synchronous class time, synchronous office hours or for recording lecture content. 

Faculty can use Zoom to virtually conduct class. Everyone in the class can chat with audio or text, share their computer screen, and send files.  Webcams can be used so that the instructor and students can see one another. All students can join a Faculty's Zoom session via a link the faculty member has created in Canvas. Review the Zoom & Security - What Faculty Need to Know page for information on how to keep your virtual class meeting space a secure one. 

This sections below include:

  • Technology Needed
  • Adding the Zoom link to your Canvas Course Menu
  • Scheduling a Meeting
  • Starting a Meeting
  • Joining a Meeting (students)
  • Zoom Toolbar
  • Managing Participants and Using a Waiting Room
  • Sharing Your Screen
  • Recording a Meeting
  • Zoom and Mobile Devices
  • Troubleshooting Tips
  • Additional Help and Resources

Technology Needed

  • A computer, tablet, or smartphone (see the section below, Zoom and Mobile Devices, for handheld device information)
  • A headset or ear buds (if you’re participating with a laptop)
  • A webcam if you want to display a video feed of yourself. Most laptops now have built-in webcams
    • For meetings where you are displaying a video feed of yourself, it is best to be on a wired connection or, if wireless, be close to your router.

Add a Zoom Link to a Canvas Course Menu

Zoom is fully integrated into Canvas.  If you do not see it in your Course Menu, then it is simply hidden.  To unhide it:

  1. Click on Settings at the bottom of the Course Menu.
  2. Click on the Navigation tab at the center top of the main panel.  Note the on-screen directions.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and locate Zoom Pro in the second table of options.  Typically, it is at the very bottom.
  4. Click and drag it up into the top table of options.
  5. Scroll all the way back to the bottom and click on the Save button.

If Zoom Pro does not automatically appear in the Course menu, refresh/reload your page.

Schedule a Meeting

  1. Click on theZoom Prolink in the Canvas Course Menu.

If you click on Zoom Pro in the Course Menu and receive an error message, please contact Damon.Hunnicutt@bucks.edu for assistance.

  1. Click on the blue Schedule a New Meeting button at the top right.

    Schedule a New Meeting button
  2. Fill in the information requested and make the appropriate choices.
    • Please note: even though you schedule a session for longer than forty minutes, your session will end at 40 minutes.
  3. Save. 
    1. If you wish to start the meeting immediately, click on the Start this Meeting button.
      • See #4 under Start A Meeting below for further directions.
    2. If you wish to schedule another meeting, click on the Course Meetings link in the Zoom breadcrumb trail towards the top of the page or click on Zoom Pro in the Course Menu.
    3. If you are done, click anywhere else in Canvas.

Start a Meeting

  1. If you are using external equipment, such as a headset microphone and/or an external webcam, be sure it is plugged in to your computer.
  2. Click onZoom Proin the Canvas Course Menu.
  3. A list of scheduled Upcoming Meetings appears.
  4. Click on the Start button to the far right of the meeting you wish to start.
  5. If you have previously used Zoom on the device you are on, you can simply launch Zoom.  What you see depends on the browser you are using:


Firefox may look similar to this:
Launch Zoom Meeting box 

Chrome may look like this:
Open Zoom

  1. If you have not used Zoom on the device you are on, then either the Zoom application/meeting client will download automatically when you start or join your first Zoom meeting or you will be prompted to download it. Once downloaded, you will be prompted to launch Zoom as illustrated above.
  2. It is a good idea to test your speaker and microphone before hitting Join With Computer Audio.

Join a Meeting (students)

Download and share with your students the following How to Use Zoom instructions: Download Student-How-To-Use-Zoom.pdf

To join a meeting, students:

  1. Click on Zoom Pro in the Canvas Course menu.
  2. Click on the Join button to the far right of the meeting they need to join.
  3. As with faculty, if a student has:
    1. never used Zoom before, s/he will be prompted to download the Zoom meeting client.
    2. used Zoom, then s/he is prompted to launch/open the application.
  4. If a student does not have an internet connection, you can supply him/her with the phone number for the meeting, which can be found on the meeting invitation.
    1. To locate the meeting invitation, click on meeting Topic/(name).
    2. On the same section as the Join URL, there is a Copy the Invitation link.  Click on it.
    3. A screen appears.  You can send the entire invitation via email to the student or copy down the appropriate phone number and send it.

Additional information for attendees Links to an external site. is available from the Zoom  Help Center, including a description of what they can control while in a meeting.

 

Zoom Toolbar

The toolbar is located at the bottom part of your screen, once you have joined a Zoom meeting. It will look similar to this: 

ZoomSecurityToolbar.jpg

You can:

  1. mute/unmute your audio (not the audio of the participants - that's elsewhere)
  2. stop/start your video  - we recommend that you start your video to let students see your face, but you don't necessarily need to keep it running
  3. security meeting options - allows the host to enable or disable options during a meeting to secure the meeting and minimize disruption during the meeting.  Options include locking the meeting, enabling Waiting Room, and more. 
  4. click on Manage Participants to open up a Participants Panel where you can admit/view/manage/invite a list of participants (this is where you can mute them if necessary)
    1.  by default, when joining, participants are placed in a Waiting Room until you admit them; a pop-up box appears near the Participants icon indicating someone is waiting
    2. the button to invite others to join your Zoom meeting is available at the bottom of the Participants panel
  5. launch a poll to your attendees
  6. share your desktop - once you are presenting, a top menu will appear with more options, including Annotation and the ability to “Stop Share"; you can share:
    1. everything you have open;
    2. select a specific application to share (e.g., Microsoft Word or PPT - make sure you already have it open before launching Share Screen); or
    3. launch a whiteboard you can draw on
  7. chat - you or students can send a message to one person (private chat) or to all participants; especially useful for troubleshooting, so you might want to assign a moderator
    1. click on the Chat icon to open the chat panel where you can control the chat features participants can use by clicking on the MORE button
  8. record the meeting
  9. select a reaction (thumbs up or clapping) to appear on the screen
  10. create breakout rooms
  11. leave or end the meeting

Manage Meeting Participants and Using a Waiting Room 

 A helpful review of how to manage meeting participants, the controls available to the host (instructor), is available from the Zoom website. Links to an external site.
and reviewed in this 10 minute video created by Zoom support: Meeting Controls Links to an external site.Meeting Controls 

If you enable a waiting room when you set-up your meeting, you can admit meeting participants one at a time, or all at once. You can also send out a message to those in the waiting room. A review of these features, and a demo of what the waiting room looks like to a meeting host, is available at Waiting Rooms Links to an external site.Waiting Rooms 

Share Your Screen

During a meeting, you can share your screen by clicking on the green Share Screen icon on the bottom Zoom toolbar. Here is a helpful one-minute tutorial on sharing your screen with other participants: 

One Minute Video: Sharing Your Screen 

 

Note:  Instructors can select "Only Host Can Share" by clicking the Share Screen icon, then selecting the Advanced Sharing Options.

Additional Screen Share Features

For more advanced screen sharing techniques like using the digital white board and annotation tools, review the instructions at:

Using the Whiteboard in Zoom

Using Annotation Tools in Zoom

 

Record a Meeting

The host of a meeting can record the meeting at anytime. Simply click the Record icon (a white circle) on the Zoom toolbar. Once the recording has ended, the video saves as an MP4 file on your computer.

Here is a one-minute video demonstrating how to record a meeting:

One Minute Video: Recording a Meeting

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

  • When starting the recording, be sure to select to save it locally to your computer.  Do NOT save to the Zoom Cloud. Zoom Cloud recordings older than 8 months will be automatically removed by Zoom. 
  • If you intend to make your recordings available in Canvas, it is advisable to chunk your recordings to about 10 minutes per recording.  You can easily do this by stopping and then immediately re-starting the recording.

Zoom and Mobile Devices

You and your students can use Zoom on your mobile device! Simply go to your app download store and search for Zoom.   The following Zoom support documentation is also helpful:

(Please note: You cannot record a meeting from a mobile device!)

Troubleshooting Tips

  • If your microphone is not working:
    • click on the Audio drop down menu at the bottom right corner of Zoom and select Audio Settings; follow the on-screen directions to test your microphone or
    • use your phone as the microphone/audio source using the phone number listed in the Zoom invitation. 
  • If your Internet connection is slow or lagging, this could be because you are on a wireless connection or are far from your router.  Try plugging in.  If it is still slow, then turn off your video stream and only maintain the audio stream.   Video is a band-width hog.
  • If you have earbuds or a headphone set, wear them! Wearing earbuds or headphones will reduce the amount of noise that your computer will pick up from your surroundings, which will make it easier for your students to hear you. Similarly, you may want to advise your students to wear earbuds or headphones during the call. 
  • Advise students to mute their microphones if they are not speaking and unmute the microphones when they wish to speak. Students may be joining Zoom calls from all kinds of different locations, many of which may create background noise that could be distracting. You could also have them use the “raise hand” feature to give you a visual cue they wish to speak. 
  • Check the  Chat for student questions and contributions. Some students may not have working microphones and, therefore, may be unable to contribute via voice. The chat room is a good place for students to contribute, ask questions, and be involved.

Additional Help and Resources

Zoom Class Activities 

Using Zoom Breakout Rooms

Using Polls in Zoom

Troubleshooting 

The following resources may be helpful:

Discuss or demo class activities in Zoom with Instructional Technologies Liaison, Jackie Burger (jacqueline.burger@bucks.edu) 

Getting an account not found or other error message?  Contact Damon Hunnicutt.