Ten Facts You Need to Know About Zoom

Estimated time to read this post: 7 minutes

1. Zoom is widely used in higher education

Zoom is the most popular videoconferencing tool in higher education today. Launched in 2012 with Stanford University as its first customer, higher education institutions around the world are attracted to Zoom because of its ease of use, reliability, as well as its picture and audio quality. Also appealing is Zoom’s cost: free with some meeting length and size restrictions, and discounted educational rates for licensed versions. Here are resources to get started using Zoom.

Zoom for higher education data sheet - https://zoom.us/education
Getting started with Zoom - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697
Joining a test meeting - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115002262083-Joining-a-test-meeting
Scheduling a Zoom meeting - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362413-How-Do-I-Schedule-Meetings-
Joining a Zoom meeting - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-How-Do-I-Join-A-Meeting-

2. Zoom has an array of tools to support virtual classrooms

All the tools needed to support teaching in virtual classrooms are readily accessible from Zoom’s main toolbar. These tools include audio and video settings, security settings, polls, chat, recording, screen sharing, and breakout rooms. Help to use these tools is available from Zoom’s website at these links.

Audio, video, and screen sharing - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/201137166
Security settings – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeFdlssWeuk
Poll creation and use - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/213756303-Polling-for-Meetings
Recording meetings - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/sections/200208179-Recording
Breakout room creation - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206476093-Enabling-breakout-rooms

3. Zoom virtual classes need to be carefully planned

Students learn and retain better when they are actively involved in their learning by having the opportunity to think about and share their understanding of course material with peers and the instructor. Therefore, Zoom classes are most effective when they are carefully planned to allow students sufficient time to discuss, practice, or apply what they are learning. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help educators plan their virtual classes. Here is a sampling of some of these resources.

How to Use Zoom to Teach Online Effectively - https://teachonline.ca/tools-trends/tools-to-teach-online/how-to-use-zoom-videoconferencing-to-teach-online-effectively
How to Teach Effectively with Zoom [Contact North webinar] - https://t.ly/PfWN
Tips and Tricks: Teachers Educating on Zoom - https://zoom.us/docs/doc/Tips%20and%20Tricks%20for%20Teachers%20Educating%20on%20Zoom.pdf
Teach Online Class Sessions - https://it.umn.edu/services-technologies/how-tos/zoom-teach-online-class-sessions
Teaching a Live Online Session Checklist and Resources

4. Zoom integrates with common LMSs

Zoom meetings can be integrated into most common learning management systems (LMSs). An advantage of integrating Zoom into an LMS is to ensure only students registered in a course have access to the meeting. It also creates a more seamless experience for students because they won’t have to search elsewhere for a meeting link, date, and time. Here are examples of how Zoom is integrated into five popular LMSs.

Blackboard (from UMass Dartmouth) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7oBQiQbldw
Canvas (from Stanford University) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh9dK_YrH8w
D2L (from University of Arizona) - https://help.d2l.arizona.edu/content/instructors-zoom-d2l-access
Moodle (from Vassar College) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNMOINd58PI
Sakai (from Duke University) - https://oit.duke.edu/what-we-do/applications/sakai

5. Zoom can be used for webinars

Zoom has an optional webinar module designed to facilitate presentations to large audiences. Available only to licensed users, the module has a webinar registration feature and can send automatic reminders to registered participants. Other features include a question and answer tool, the option of assigning co-hosts, the possibility to rehearse presentations before broadcasting live, and reporting and analytics tools. Licensed users without the webinar module have more limited ability to host webinars from regular Zoom meetings. This is done by streaming a Zoom meeting live on YouTube. The audience can post comments or questions via YouTube’s chat feature, however any person who happens upon the presentation could disrupt the chat.

Getting started with a webinar - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005474943-Meeting-and-webinar-comparison
Webinar training video - https://t.ly/PhV6
Webinar and meeting comparison - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005474943-Meeting-and-webinar-comparison
Streaming a meeting on YouTube - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360028478292-Streaming-a-Meeting-or-Webinar-on-YouTube-Live
Best practices for hosting webinars and meetings - https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/03/04/best-practices-for-hosting-a-digital-event/

6. Zoom can be accessed in many ways

Participants can join a Zoom meeting with popular web browsers, but they will not be able to take full advantage of Zoom’s features without downloading the free Zoom desktop client. However, with the availability of the Zoom clients for all platforms, the preferred method of participating in a meeting is with the client. Here are links to available clients.

Mobile app overview pages: iOS https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362993; and Android https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/200942759
ChromeOS overview page - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/213298746
Mac client overview page - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362033
Linux overview page - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/204206269
Windows client overview page - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362033

7. Zoom has many uses beyond video meetings and webinars

Although Zoom is designed primarily for video meetings and webinars, many educators use it for other purposes. These uses include the proctoring of exams, student advising, recording of lectures, audioconferencing, and obtaining transcripts of cloud recordings. Here are some examples of how to use Zoom in different ways.

Proctoring an exam with Zoom and Canvas - https://app.vidgrid.com/view/GazPAfdUiobV/?sr=DI3ryD
Drop-in academic advising - https://lassonde.yorku.ca/meet-advisor
Audioconferencing with Zoom - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/204517069-Getting-started-with-Personal-Audio-Conference
Recording a presentation for uploading to YouTube or other video service - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/202291078-Sharing-a-Local-Recording
Transcribing a cloud recording - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115004794983-Using-audio-transcription-for-cloud-recordings-

8. Zoom can be configured to protect student privacy

Many institutions set specific policies and procedures to protect student privacy during Zoom meetings. Mostly, they are adaptations of general campus student privacy policies. They cover topics such as recording a class, displaying student faces on screen, use of passwords, using screen names, storing of data, and virtual backgrounds. Zoom can be readily configured to conform with these polices. Here is a sampling of some campus policies.

Algonquin College - https://algonquincollege.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=35169116
Harvard University - https://harvard.service-now.com/ithelp?id=kb_article&sys_id=6880408bdbab8c9430ed1dca489619bc
Ryerson University - https://www.ryerson.ca/centre-for-excellence-in-learning-and-teaching/continuity-guide/host-a-meeting-with-zoom/
Simon Fraser University - https://www.sfu.ca/information-systems/services/zoom/privacy-and-security.html
York University - https://coronavirus.info.yorku.ca/files/2020/04/Faculty-Guidelines-for-Safe-Use-of-Technology-While-Working-Virtually.pdf?x98006

9. Zoom is enhancing security

When educators and consumers around the world flocked to Zoom amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many security shortcomings became apparent. Zoom-bombing, or the deliberate disruption of meetings by unwanted intruders, became the most common security breach. On April 1, 2020, Zoom pledged to focus all the company’s efforts on bolstering its security. Significant enhancements to Zoom are now evident and various guidelines are available for establishing secure meetings.

How to Keep Zoom Classes Secure and Private – https://teachonline.ca/tools-trends/how-keep-zoom-classes-secure-and-private
Best Practices for Securing Your Virtual Classroom - https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/03/27/best-practices-for-securing-your-virtual-classroom/
Electronic Frontier Harden Your Zoom Settings to Protect Your Privacy and Avoid Trolls - https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/04/harden-your-zoom-settings-protect-your-privacy-and-avoid-trolls
How to Keep Uninvited Guests Out of Your Zoom Event - https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/03/20/keep-uninvited-guests-out-of-your-zoom-event/
York University Privacy and Security Guidance - https://infosec.yorku.ca/2020/03/zoom-privacy-and-security-guidance/
York University - https://coronavirus.info.yorku.ca/files/2020/04/Faculty-Guidelines-for-Safe-Use-of-Technology-While-Working-Virtually.pdf?x98006

10. Zoom has a burgeoning app marketplace

Despite Zoom’s widespread popularity, its searchable app marketplace is not well-known by most educators. Listed at the marketplace are hundreds of popular third-party software applications that either integrate into Zoom itself or allow Zoom to integrate into them. For example, with the SurveyMonkey app you can create surveys from the Zoom chat room; with the Gmail app you can schedule meetings and send invitations from Gmail; and with the YouTube app you can automatically upload Zoom meeting and webinar recordings seamlessly to Youtube; and with Otter.ai you can transcribe meetings live. Installation of Zoom apps require your system administrator’s approval, and some require payment of a monthly fee after a free trial. Here are links to learn more about some of these apps.