10 Zoom Tips You Might Not Know!

Schools are closed but the need to communicate with staff, parents and students is still a priority. To meet that need, lots of people are turning to Zoom. It has become the go-to video conferencing tool for millions of people during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it's also one of those tools that have hidden gems that are just waiting to be explored. In this post we are going to cover 10 Zoom tips you might not know!

1. Touch Up My Appearance

If you go to the Settings in your Zoom app and click Video from the sidebar, you will see an option called Touch Up My Appearance. If you check this box, you will see a video filter applied to your webcam. Essentially, the purpose of this filter is to soften your skin. It won't make you look ten years younger, but many people prefer this version to the standard webcam view.

Learn More: Touch Up My Appearance

2. Use Virtual Backgrounds

Did someone drop a Zoom meeting on you at short notice? Do you wish you had more time to tidy that messy spare bedroom? Fear not. Virtual backgrounds are here to save the day. Simply go to Settings > Virtual Backgrounds and choose an image (or a video) to use as your background. You can use one from the Zoom gallery or upload your own. Although you can do this in front of a green screen, you don't have to, so long as your lighting is good and your background is not too busy. Simply uncheck the box that says, I have a green screen.

Learn More: Virtual Background

3. Record Your Zoom Calls

If you want to create a webinar, record a podcast, or simply save a record of your meeting for future reference, you can record your Zoom call. This option is available to free and paid subscribers. You can then upload your recorded video to Google Drive, YouTube or other cloud platforms. All you need to do is click the Record button on your meeting toolbar to start recording. You can pause or stop the recording at any time. The media is saved to your Documents folder on your computer where you will see two folders; one that has the video and one that just has the audio.

Learn More: Local Recording

4. Take Control as the Meeting Host

If you created and scheduled the Zoom call, then you are the meeting host. This gives you some super powers that you can help you bring order to your remote meeting. You can also delegate some of these powers to another person in the meeting by making them a co-host. So, here are a list of some of things you can do as a meeting host in Zoom from the Manage Participants window:

• Mute participants: a quick way to make silence all background audio
• Request that a participant unmutes: Hover over a participant and click More for this option
• Stop a participant's video: Hover over a participant and click More for these option
  
• Request that participant starts their video: Hover over a participant and click More for these option
• Prevent participants from screen sharing: click the arrow next to Share Screen and click Advanced Sharing Options. Under Who Can Share, choose Only Host
• Rename a participant: Hover over a participant and click More for this option
• Choose to play an enter or exit chime
• Lock the meeting to prevent anyone new from joining

Learn More: Managing Participants in a Meeting

5. Emoji Reactions

As you probably already know, it is sometimes just best practice to remain muted for much of the meeting if you are not the one who is talking. This cuts down on background noise and other interruptions. However, being muted doesn't stop you from interacting and adding your voice to the conversation. You can do that with the Reactions button on your toolbar. From here you can choose a thumbs up or an applause emoji to let the speaker know that you are on the same page as them. The reaction will display for 5 seconds and will be visible to everyone on the call who can see your video. For more options, you can also use non-verbal feedback options.

Learn More: Meeting Reactions

6. Schedule Recurring Meetings

If you're setting up office hours, or you want to have the same meeting at the same time every week without creating a new link for everyone, you need recurring meetings. Here's how it works:

• Open the Zoom app for Mac or PC (or on the web)
• Click Schedule to setup your meeting.
• Under the title of your meeting, click the Recurring Meeting checkbox.
• Then, fill in the rest of your details and click Schedule.

This will open your default calendar app, (Outlook or Google Calendar), where you can use the recurring event options in your calendar to choose the times you want this meeting to be held. The meeting will repeat for as many times as you need it and the same URL will be used for each meeting. You can also invite people to the meeting from your calendar so that they get all the meeting info they need.

Learn More: Scheduling Recurring Meetings

7. Take Attendance

If you want a quick way to to take attendance at a Zoom meeting, don't take attendance, because Zoom does that for you. Simply log in to your Zoom account on the web, click Reports, then Usage Reports. This lets you filter your Zoom meetings by month. Find the one you want, then click on the number of participants. This shows you who attended, how long they were in the meeting and even their attentiveness score. The data can also be downloaded as a CSV file if required. You need a Pro, Business, or Education plan in order to take advantage of this feature.

8. Create Breakout Rooms

If you have your whole staff on a Zoom call and you want to divide and conquer by splitting up a task so that small groups can work on it, you can use Breakout Rooms. You will find this option on your Zoom toolbar at the bottom of your screen. Breakout Rooms need to be initiated by a host or a co-host, but once activated, you can manually choose who goes in what group, or you can have Zoom randomly assign people to groups for you. There is even an option to upload your groups ahead of time so that they are ready to go when you start your meeting.

Learn More: Getting Started With Breakout Rooms

9. Annotation Tools

Zoom's built-in annotation tools can be used while screen sharing or on a virtual whiteboard. They are also collaborative so everyone can annotate at once, (although this can be disabled if required). When you share your screen, you will see the Annotate button at the top of your screen on the screen share toolbar. If you are viewing someone else's screen, click View Options from the same toolbar at the top of your screen, and then select Annotate. This will give you access to a whole slew of annotation tools that you can use to markup screens, images, and more. Annotations can also be saved as a screenshot at any time by clicking the Save button from the Annotations toolbar.

Learn More: Using Annotation Tools on a Shared Screen or Whiteboard

10. Tech Support

It's not enabled by default, but if you log in to your Zoom account on the web, you can turn on something called Remote Support. This allows you to request control of another participant's computer. Once they approve, you can control control their desktop, a specific application, or even request a restart on their computer. This can be great to help a teacher troubleshoot computer problems or fix and it can all be done remotely.

Learn More: Remote Support Session

Bonus Tip: The Waiting Room

If the link for your Zoom meeting is public, and you are unsure about who might join your Zoom meeting, you can enable the Waiting Room feature. This puts all attendees in a virtual waiting room where they need your approval in order to join the meeting. If you don't see a name you recognize, you don't need to let them join your call. You can approve all attendees at once, or individually as you see fit. You can enable the Waiting Room before your meeting starts, or do it once you have started your meeting. So, if you are a little nervous about unwanted people crashing your party, this can be one method you can use to make your room a little more secure.

Learn More: Waiting Room

---

Jonathan Wylie (@jonathanwylie)
Digital Learning Consultant
Grant Wood AEA