Zoom is a user-friendly and affordable video conferencing platform. Here are some helpful resources for learning how to use Zoom, including scheduling, joining and recording meetings, plus more.
If your nonprofit is about to make the switch to Zoom, be sure to purchase your subscription through TechSoup. Nonprofits can get the Zoom Pro Plan Bundle for half off, plus a $65 TechSoup admin fee.
Contents:
- Getting Started With Zoom On Windows + Mac
- Scheduling Zoom Meetings
- Joining A Zoom Meeting
- Joining A Zoom Meeting By Phone
- Recording A Zoom Meeting
- Sharing Your Screen Via Zoom
- Zoom Meetings Vs. Zoom Webinars
- Zoom Breakout Rooms
- Security Best Practices
- Other Useful Links
Getting Started With Zoom On Windows + Mac
Includes:
Scheduling Zoom Meetings
Includes:
-
- Scheduling from the Zoom desktop client or mobile app
- Scheduling from the Zoom web portal
- Scheduling for someone else – PDF Guides for Executive Assistants (Outlook, Google)
- Helpful notes
Joining A Zoom Meeting
Includes:
- Prerequisites
- Step-by-step guides for joining from different devices
- Joining test meetings
Joining A Zoom Meeting By Phone
Includes:
- Overview
- Joining meeting audio by phone
- Joining meeting audio by phone after joining computer audio
- Joining a meeting by phone only
- Hosting phone-only meetings
Recording A Zoom Meeting
Sharing Your Screen Via Zoom
Zoom Meetings Vs. Zoom Webinars
Zoom meetings are more interactive and allow your audience to engage in the dialogue use their camera and microphone, instead of just the chat window. Zoom webinars are more like virtual lecture halls, where only the host and panelists have talking capabilities.
The article goes into more detail around the comparison, including:
-
- Best uses for each
- Cost (there is a free level for Zoom meetings, but Zoom webinars are a paid add-on)
- Participant roles
- Audio + video sharing
- Capacity
- And more
Zoom Breakout Rooms
Breakout rooms allow you to break your large meeting into smaller groups within the same meeting. They are helpful for cultivating intimate conversations, allowing space to talk about topics that are not relevant to the entire group, and enabling more people to talk without using more time.
Related: Ways To Use Zoom Meeting Rooms To Increase Meeting Engagement
Security Best Practices
Zoom has been hit by some “bad actors (cyber hackers)”, which has created security challenges in using its virtual conferencing tools. Effective April 5th, Zoom implemented a few security measures for meetings and webinars.
Make sure to use these two settings when creating new meetings:
- Meeting passwords are a requirement and default for joining Zoom via phone or computer.
- “Enable Waiting Room” is turned on when creating a meeting. The Waiting Room allows the host to control when a participant joins the meeting. The Waiting Room is one of the best ways to control who’s entering your Zoom meeting by giving you the option to admit participants individually or all at once. We highly recommend using this feature to secure your meetings and prevent unwanted participants if a link is shared outside of the intended guest list. Learn more about the Waiting Room feature.
Zoom also recommends disabling Desktop Screen Sharing. If you need Desktop Screen Sharing for a meeting, you can disable it for participants but leave it enable for the the meeting host. The host then has control to screen share and allow access for a participant to show their screen.
Related Zoom Security Resources
- 90-Day Security Plan Progress Report (from Zoom’s blog)
- Zoom Settings Updates For Free Accounts + Single Pro Users (April 2020)
- How To Keep Uninvited Guests Out Of Your Zoom Event
- How To Keep Your Zoom Chats Private + Secure
- Stopping “Zoombombs”
- Restricting Users
- Staying Private
- Trying Alternative Video Conferencing Platforms
- 7 Best Practices To Secure Virtual Meetings
Conference Call Security Infographic - Cyber Risks Associated With COVID-19
- Zoom Security Best Practices
- Should My Nonprofit Still Use Zoom?
Other Useful Links
These links provide advice and techniques for improving your meeting and presentation quality. Simple but important tips like, “don’t over-invite,” since meeting quality goes down as meeting group size goes up, “staying on mute” when you aren’t speaking, and “considering your lighting” ( for example, avoid sitting by windows in such a way that you’re back-lit).
