To get your Yale-licensed Zoom pro-account, you will need to log into Zoom directly to create your account.  This is a required step to get access to pro-account features and to use the Zoom/Canvas integration.  Click the link below for full instructions, or watch the video for a demonstration.

Now that Zoom is enabled in your Canvas course site, learn how to schedule course meetings.

You can use Zoom to record lectures and share recordings on Canvas or use Panopto (known as Media Library) to pre-record lectures. The Poorvu Center recommends that faculty members record class sessions to ensure that students in distant time zones can access course materials asynchronously. 

To help everyone get the most out of class sessions in a virtual classroom, we suggest the following practices for instructors and students: 

1. Use earbuds or headphones to avoid feedback and echoes. 
2. Mute yourself when you are not speaking. “Mute audio” is in the bottom left corner of your Zoom screen. 
3. You can turn off your video temporarily using the “Stop video” feature in the bottom left corner of your Zoom screen. 
4. Wireless networks can lose signal and result in Zoom temporarily freezing. For a more stable connection, consider using a wired internet connection with an Ethernet cable. This involves plugging an Ethernet cable into your computer - but in many cases an adapter may be required to connect. Please contact the ITS help desk if you need further assistance. 

Instructors can share their computer screen so every student can view the material (slides, documents, etc.). Learn more about screen sharing with Zoom. 

Enable the Closed Captions feature on your account for any meetings that will require closed captions. Closed captioning CART (Communications Access Realtime Translation) services will be identified based on accommodation requests. In addition, please be familiar with how to assign a participant to type closed captions should a request arise.

Automatic captions using Artificial Intelligence (AI) are also available in Zoom. These captions should be enabled for your account for use regardless of accommodation requests. Note that automatic captions do not meet ADA standards but are an important accessibility tool more generally. To enable Automatic captions:

1. Log into the zoom web portal (https://yale.zoom.us) and access Settings –> In Meeting (Advanced) –> Closed captioning (you will need to scroll down to find these options under Settings)
2. Click the toggle button to enable Closed captioning then check the box next to both Allow live transcription service to transcribe meeting automatically and Allow viewing of full transcript in the in-meeting side panel.
3. At the start of a meeting, the host can click the Live Transcript button and Enable Auto-Transcription

When you schedule your meeting through your profile page on https://yale.zoom.us, through the Canvas/Zoom integration or through the Zoom app, you will see an option to under the Security section to enable the waiting room for your meeting session.  Fill in the form with all of your settings and then select the checkbox for the waiting list.  Once you are finished, click the Save button at the bottom of the form.  

If you did not pre-set the waiting room feature, you can also enable the waiting room after you have started a session by selecting the Security button across the bottom of your meeting and selecting Enable Waiting Room.

When enabled, users who join your event will be place in the waiting room until the host or co-host of the session admits them.  For a demonstration of how to allow users into your session from the waiting room, watch the video below.

The breakout room feature in Zoom allows you to split your Zoom meeting in to smaller groups, and allows the host and co-host to move between breakout rooms as desired. Breakout rooms can be created automatically (random room assignment), manually, or with the ability for participants to select which room they would like to join. Zoom also provides a feature to pre-assign participants to breakout rooms in advance by adding the breakout room information to your meeting.

Students with additional questions about Zoom should visit the support section on the Zoom website.

To ask questions or consult with a Poorvu Center staff member, please contact us. You can submit a consultation request on the Poorvu Center website.