Zoom at MET
NOTICE:
As of March 12, 2022, all Zoom recordings older than 180 days will be deleted (except for those in the range of January 1st 2020 to June 1st 2020). Please make sure to fill out our
Recording Request Form to ensure your recording(s) are archived for future viewing.
Utilized for classes, events, webinars, and meetings, there is a multitude of ways in which Zoom can be used and accessed.
At Metropolitan College there are three main Zoom Categories:
- Course-Centric – Live Classroom Integration with Blackboard. The meeting and account are associated with a specific class not to a single user. This method allows a user’s role in Blackboard (Faculty, TA, Student) to determine their role in Zoom (Host, Co-Host, Participant). Currently used in all MET On-Campus, Blended/Hybrid, Summer Term, and CPE Online classes.
- Event-Centric – A meeting created for a Department or Special Event. Managed by designated users. This method allows multiple staff members to share responsibility for Hosting and running meetings or events.
- User-Centric – An account and meetings created and managed an individual person. The account and meetings are associated with a faculty or staff’s BU Account.
Regardless of the category there are certain fundamentals that every Zoom user should be familiar with.
Zoom Basics Everyone Should Know:
1. Computer & Internet
Two essentials for using Zoom are a reliable computer and a fast, stable internet connection. Although you can join a Zoom meeting from a smartphone or tablet the mobile version of Zoom is not optimized for Gallery View and Screen Sharing. For a more robust experience, especially when it comes to teaching classes, we recommend using a computer.
2. Microphone & Camera
Enabling a microphone and camera allows people to see and hear you during the meeting.
You can connect different USB cameras & microphones to your computer.
Whether using a headset in your home office or connecting to the A/V System in a BU classrooms, knowing how to switch between different devices is a must.
Click the triangle next to the Audio & Camera icons to see your available options.
Test your audio to ensure the correct device is enabled and to verify audio quality.
3. Audio Feedback & Echo
Echo and Audio Feedback (the unpleasant high-pitched electronic squeal) is caused when a microphone is picking up audio from the speakers and sending it back into Zoom creating a feedback loop.
Potential causes:
- Participant has joined on multiple devices in the same room, such as on a laptop and dialed-in on their phone.
- Students and the instructor all join on separate devices in the same room without using headsets or earbuds.
- Participant has the volume from their computer speakers loud enough for their microphone to pick-up the sound, feeding it back into the meeting.
Solutions:
- Use a headset or earbuds
- If joining from multiple devices, only connect the audio for a single device.
- Double check you are properly connected to the room system or external audio devices.
- Lower the volume or mute the laptop speakers
- More options
4. Screen Share
One of the main features of Zoom is the ability to screen share. This allows you to show content from your computer to all the remote attendees.
Use screen share to show a PowerPoint presentation or a software demonstration.
The Basics:
- When you click the ‘Share’ button you will presented with several options. The available options will vary based on what applications and files are currently open on your computer
- The easiest method for new Zoom users is to always choose the choice in the upper left and click ‘Share’ on the lower right.
- Be aware that when you are sharing your screen (aka your Desktop) everything you do on your computer will be seen by everyone in the conference, so be sure to stop sharing before checking email or other private activities
Share Screen w/ Audio:
Playing a video from YouTube or MyMedia? You can hear it but students can’t?
Check these two boxes in the Share Screen Pop-Up window
- Share computer sound
- Optimize Screen Sharing for Video Clip
Allow Participants (Students) to Share Screen
- A pop-up menu next to ‘Share Screen’ pulls up the Advanced Sharing Options
- If you want others in the meeting to share their screens set ‘Who can share’ to ‘All Participants’.
Share a second camera
- The ‘Advanced’ tab will allow you to share full screen content from a second camera. This is ideal for presenting with a document camera.
5. Recording
- Meeting Hosts or Co-Hosts can start, stop, pause recording of the meeting.
- Pay close attention to the recording indicator to ensure that you are recording the portions of the meeting that you want to preserve.
- Pausing and resuming a recording produces a single recording.
- Stopping recording restarting recording produces two recordings
6. Host & Co-Host Roles
- Zoom allows 1 Host and multiple co-hosts.
- The Host can promote attendees or pass Host rights to another participant.
- The MET Zoom/Blackboard integration assigns the Host role to first person (Instructor, Facilitator, TA) to start the meeting. Each member of the teaching staff that joins after will be assigned Co-Host.
7. Break Out Rooms
Break Out rooms let you split your meeting into separate, smaller sessions. The meeting host can create up to 50 rooms.
The meeting host can assign participants of the meeting into these separate sessions automatically or manually, or they can allow participants to select and enter breakout sessions as they please.
The host or co-host can switch between sessions at any time.
Note: Breakout rooms are not recorded.
8. Guest Join URL
- Click the small green shield icon at the upper left of Zoom window.
- Click “Copy Link.”
- The copied meeting information is now saved in your computer’s clipboard.
- Open a new email and “paste” the copied link in the email body. This is the guest join link for the meeting.
- Send the email containing the join link to your guest.
- You can obtain this link days or even weeks before your meeting.
9. Waiting Room
When enabled you control who and when someone can join the meeting.
It can be enabled from the “Security” Icon. Admit attendees from the “Participant” List.
10. Virtual Backgrounds
Display an image or video behind you during a meeting. For best results use a physical green screen
and uniform lighting. Upload your own image or use a BU Branded image. There is even an option to blur your background instead.