This site requires JavaScript to be enabled
An updated version of this article is available

Zoom: User Guide

35 views

5.0 - Last modified on 02/14/25 Revised by Roth, Walter

4.0 - Last modified on 05/21/24 Revised by Roth, Walter

3.0 - Last modified on 12/06/23 Revised by Roth, Walter

2.0 - Last modified on 04/16/23 Revised by Gangloff, Christine

1.0 - Created on 08/22/20 Authored by Gangloff, Christine


Guide to using Zoom

Current Zoom Service Status - Due to unprecedented demand during these times, please check here for the current status and maintenance periods for all Zoom services.

Get Started

Before you can use Zoom, you must install the Zoom software for your device. Start by going to the Zoom Download Center or go to rowan.zoom.us and click "Download" in the footer.

It’s a good idea to install that software ahead of time so it doesn’t delay your first meeting; however, if you haven’t yet done that, Zoom will automatically start downloading the application to your device. You’ll need to install it before you can start your meeting.

Zoom experts host free and interactive live training webinars daily. Get up to speed in less than an hour  https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360029527911

See Also:

Download Zoom

Install Zoom

Log in to Zoom

You can login to the Rowan University Zoom portal at rowan.zoom.us



You can also log in to the desktop client using the "Sign in with SSO" option.

>>Back to top

Adjust Your Settings

In the Rowan Zoom portal:

Login to the Rowan University Zoom portal at rowan.zoom.us and click Settings to manage your host settings.

Some settings are already defined and locked for security reasons, but many can be set according to your preferences. 

For example, in the "Schedule Meetings" section, you can choose if you would like all participants to start with their video on by sliding the button to the right.

Or, under the "In Meeting (Basic)" section, you can turn off the entry sound for everyone, or leave it on for just the host and co-hosts. 

You can also let "All Participants" share their screen by selecting it here, among other settings.



In the Desktop Client:

There are several settings in the desktop application that you may want to adjust prior to hosting a meeting or class.

  1. Open the Zoom desktop application from your computer’s programs list.
  2. If necessary, follow the steps above to sign in with SSO.
  3. Click Settings (gear icon) in the upper right of the Zoom desktop application to open the Settings dialog box.


>>Back to top

Join a Test Meeting

You can join a test Zoom meeting to familiarize yourself with the Zoom and test your microphone/speakers before hosting or joining a Zoom meeting in a Canvas course. You can also test your video or audio while in a Zoom meeting.

Note: If you are using the Zoom app on mobile, you can visit http://zoom.us/test to join a test meeting, then follow the instructions to test your video or audio.

  1. Visit http://zoom.us/test.
  2. Click the blue Join button to launch Zoom.
  3. When prompted by your browser, click Open Zoom Meetings. If you don't have Zoom installed on your computer, follow the prompts to download and install Zoom.

>>Back to top

Join a Meeting

There are many ways to join a meeting, but the easiest way is to click the join link that the meeting host provided or from the Canvas Calendar. You can also click Join a Meeting at rowan.zoom.us and enter the meeting ID.


 >>Back to top

Schedule a Meeting

Schedule a Zoom Meeting in Canvas

NOTE: All Zoom meetings must now have passwords, including meetings you may have already scheduled and personal meeting rooms. This is a requirement imposed by Zoom and supported by Rowan University to further enhance security and prevent uninvited users from joining meetings. 

Zoom Meetings can have up to 300 participants per meeting with a maximum session length of 24 hours.

  1. Login to rowan.zoom.us or open the Zoom Application.
  2. Click "Schedule a Meeting" on the website, or "Schedule" in the app.
  3. Fill out your desired settings and click "Save" on the website or "Schedule" in the app.
  4. Your meeting will be scheduled.
  5. Click Copy Invitation in the website or the Copy to clipboard button in the app, then paste the information into an Outlook appointment in order to invite other participants.

Other Zoom Articles:

>>Back to top

Host a Meeting

You can start a meeting directly from rowan.zoom.us or by navigating to the Rowan Zoom Portal at rowan.zoom.us/meeting and clicking the Start button to the right of the meeting name. You can also start a meeting from the desktop client or mobile app. If starting a meeting from a mobile device, enter the Meeting ID into the mobile app.

Audio Options

  1. To unmute yourself and begin talking, click the Unmute button (microphone) in the bottom-left corner of the meeting window.
  2. To mute yourself, click the Mute button (microphone). A red slash will appear over the microphone icon indicating that your audio is now off.



  3. To test your computer microphone and speakers or to change your audio input device, click the arrow on the microphone icon and select Test Speaker & Microphone.



  4. To switch from computer audio to phone audio, click the arrow on the microphone button and select Switch to Phone Audio. A dialog box will appear with a phone number, the Meeting ID, and your Participant ID. After dialing the phone number, you will be prompted to enter the Meeting ID and Participant ID using your phone's keypad.

>>Back to top

Video Options

  1. Click the Start Video button in the menu bar at the bottom to begin your video.
  2. Click the Stop Video button to stop sharing your video stream.



  3. To choose a different webcam or adjust your video settings, click the arrow to the right of the Video icon and select Video Settings.

NOTE: If you choose not to turn on your webcam in the meeting and video has been activated, your video window will contain either your name, email address, or a photo, depending on how your profile is set up in the Rowan Zoom Portal.

>>Back to top

Record a Meeting

  1. Click the Record button in the menu bar at the bottom.




  2. Choose whether to:
    • Record to the Cloud - You will receive an email once your cloud recording is processed with a link to the recordings. From this page you will be able to download your video. If you have recorded a meeting in a meeting launched in Canvas, your students will be able to access it. You will also get an email containing the audio transcription (once it has processed) for any cloud recorded meeting once it has ended. See Using Zoom in Canvas for more information. 
    • Record on this Computer - When you end your meeting, a window will appear with several files. Zoom provides you with the audio file (audio-only) and a video file including audio. These files can be accessed later by navigating to Documents → Zoom on your computer.
  3. Click the Stop Recording icon in the menu bar to finish the recording.

Passwords for Cloud recordings is on by default. The auto-generated password is in the email notification you receive from Zoom when your recording is done processing.

You can turn off the password requirement for your recordings by going to rowan.zoom.us and logging in. Once logged in, click "Settings" and then "Recordings" - scroll down to "Require passcode to access shared cloud recordings" and slide it OFF.

>>Back to top

Manage Participant Audio and Video

Hosts can control participant audio and video using the tools in the Participants panel. The Participants panel allows you to easily see who has audio and video connected, which is helpful information when troubleshooting participant audio issues. The host can mute all participants in a meeting, but does not have the option to unmute all participants. If the meeting settings allow it, participants can unmute themselves using the Zoom toolbar at the bottom of the window.

To mute all participants:

  1. Click the Participants button in the Zoom toolbar at the bottom of the meeting window to open the Participants panel.



  2. Click the Mute All button at the bottom of the Participants panel.



  3. The Mute All pop up displays asking you to confirm that you want to mute all current and new participants. Deselect the Allow participants to unmute themselves checkbox to prevent participants from unmuting themselves during the meeting.
  4. Click Mute All to mute all participants.



  5. To mute or unmute an individual participant, hover over the person's name in the Participants panel and click Mute or Unmute.


Hosts cannot turn on a participant's video. However, hosts can turn off a participant's video or request that a participant turns on their video. To manage participant video:

  1. Click the Participants button in the Zoom toolbar at the bottom of the Zoom meeting window.
  2. Hover your mouse over a person's name.
  3. Click More.
  4. Select Ask to Start Video to send the participant a request to start their video or select Stop Video to turn off that participant's video feed.

>>Back to top

Collect Feedback

Nonverbal feedback icons allow the host to quickly collect feedback and responses from participants without using chat. Nonverbal feedback icons include wave hand, yes, no, like, dislike, need a break, away, etc. The Nonverbal feedback feature must be enabled in the host's meeting settings in the Zoom Portal prior to the meeting.

  1. Click Participants in the Zoom toolbar at the bottom of the Zoom meeting window.
  2. Ask participants to use the available icons to respond to questions or to indicate a need, such as go slower or request a break.
  3. Click the Clear All icon to remove the icons from the Participants panel, if necessary.


>>Back to top

Chat

  1. Click the Chat icon in the menu bar to open the Zoom Group Chat window.



  2. Type your message in the Text box at the bottom of the window on the right.
  3. Press Enter to send.
  4. To send a message to a single participant, click the down arrow in the To: field and select the participant's name.
  5. Enter your message in the Text box and press Enter to send your message to the selected participant.
  6. Click the down arrow again and switch back to Everyone (in Meeting) in order to communicate with the entire group.

NOTE: When you receive a chat message while screen sharing, the menu bar displays and the More button blinks. Click the More button and select Chat from the list to display the Chat panel.



>>Back to top

Share Your Screen or a Whiteboard

In a Zoom meeting, both the host and participants can share their computer screen (if you have enabled that setting in the Zoom Portal prior to the meeting) or open a whiteboard for all users to add content. Users can choose to share any specific application window they have open or select Screen to share all currently open windows. The whiteboard option opens a blank screen where all participants can draw, add text, highlight items or add other annotations using the tools in the toolbar that displays.

When sharing your screen, the Zoom menu bar moves from the bottom of the Zoom window to the top and will be hidden until you move your cursor over the area. You can reposition the menu bar by clicking and dragging it to another location on your computer, such as a second monitor. Additional tools, such as Chat, Breakout Rooms, and Record are moved under the More button on the right side of the menu bar.

  1. Click the Share Screen button on the menu bar.



  2. Select the specific application window you would like to share or select Screen to be able share any open window on your computer. Select Whiteboard to share a whiteboard.
  3. Click the Share button at the bottom of the window.



  4. If you receive a chat message while you are screen sharing, the More button in the toolbar will blink. To view the chat message, click the More button and select Chat from the list.
  5. To annotate in a screen share, click the Annotate button to open the annotation menu. Use the draw tools (arrows, shapes) to direct participants' attention to an area of your screen or use the text tool to type notes on the screen.



  6. To close the annotation menu, click the X in the upper right of the annotation menu.
  7. Click the More icon to view additional host tools, such as breakout rooms, Record, and end the meeting.



  8. Click Stop Share in the small menu bar to stop sharing your screen.


NOTE: Participants can share their screens in the meeting if the host is not actively sharing and has allowed it for the meeting in the Zoom Portal meeting settings. To disable screen sharing for participants, click the up arrow to the right of the Share Screen button in the Zoom toolbar and select Advanced Sharing.

>>Back to top

Breakout Rooms

Breakout Rooms allow you to split your Zoom meeting into separate sessions. You can split the participants of the meeting automatically or manually, and can switch between sessions at any time. Up to 50 breakout rooms can be created, all with full audio, video, and screen share capabilities. If the meeting is being cloud recorded, it will only record the main room, regardless of what room the meeting host is in. If local recording is being used, it will record the room the participant who is recording is in.

NOTE: Users connected via the web client will be unable to join Breakout Rooms, but the main room can be used as an alternative session for them.

Confirm Breakout Rooms are enabled in your Host settings

  1. Login to rowan.zoom.us
  2. Click Settings
  3. Click "In Meeting (Advanced) and ensure that Breakout room is enabled.

Create breakout rooms during your meeting.

  1. Click on the Breakout Rooms icon in the bottom menu of your meeting.



  2. In the pop-up window, select the number of rooms that you would like to create, as well as how you would like to assign participants.
    • Automatically: Let Zoom split your participants up evenly into each of the rooms.
    • Manually: Choose which participants you would like in each room.
  3. Your rooms will be created, but they will not start automatically.Click Create Breakout Rooms



  4. Your rooms will be created, but they will not start automatically.

Setting options for breakout rooms.

  1. After the breakout rooms have been created, click Options to view additional options.





    • Move all participants into breakout rooms automatically: if this option is left unchecked, participants will need to click “Join” to be added to the breakout room.
    • Allow participants to return to the main session at any time: if this option is left unchecked, students will have to wait for the host to end the breakout rooms to move back to the main room.
    • Breakout rooms close automatically after x minutes: after the set time has elapsed, the breakout rooms will close and students will be brought back to the main room.
    • Countdown after closing breakout room: If this option is checked, students will be given a countdown of how much time they have left before being returned to the main room.

Assigning Rooms Manually

  1. Select Assign next to the room and then select the check box next to the student's name that you want to assign to that room. Repeat this for each room.



  2. Once a student has been assigned, the number of participants will show in place of the “Assign” button.



  3. You also have the following options:
    • Rename: Rename the room.
    • Delete Room: Delete the room. 
    • Move To: select a room to move the student to.
    • Exchange: select a student in another room to swap the selected student with.
  4. When your breakout rooms have been create and assigned, click the “Open All Rooms” button.

Manage breakout rooms

  1. Once the Breakout Rooms have been started, the host will stay in the main meeting until joining a session manually. If a participant has not joined the session yet, it will be noted by (not joined) next to their name.
  2. Clicking Join next to a breakout room will bring you to that room’s session.
  3. Once in a breakout room, you can click the Leave button to be brought back to the main meeting (only shows when in a breakout room).



  4. At the bottom of the breakout room menu you have the option to:



    • Broadcast a message to all: broadcasts a message to all breakout rooms.
    • Close All Rooms: Stops all rooms after a 60 second countdown, shown to the host and participants, and returns all participants back to the main meeting. 

End a Meeting

  1. Click the End button on the right side of the menu bar to the close the meeting. If you are currently sharing your screen, click the More button in the sharing toolbar and select End from the drop-down.



  2. Click End Meeting for All to end the meeting and begin the rendering process for the session recording and reports.

NOTE: If you recorded the meeting locally, a dialog box will appear indicating the recording is being rendered and allows you to select where you would like to save the video.

For more information, please see How does a host control a meeting?

>>Back to top

Zoom Training

Zoom experts host free and interactive live training webinars daily. Get up to speed in less than an hour  https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360029527911

More articles from Zoom

>>Back to top

If you have any questions or need help, please contact the Technology Support Center at 856-256-4400 or submit a ticket in the IRT Support Portal.

 

 

Authored by Gangloff, Christine
Last modified 03/18/22 09:25:19 AM