Video conferencing provides the power to hop on a call and collaborate with colleagues in real-time within seconds. All faculty, staff, and students will inevitably use video conferencing at some stage in their journey at UIW. While you may come across different options when meeting with external personnel, UIW IT deploys, endorses, and officially supports both Zoom and Microsoft Teams as video conferencing tools. Additionally, UIW's Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology installs, designs and supports video conferencing systems throughout the university's class and meeting rooms.
Make sure your device has the needed video conferencing apps installed (Zoom or Teams)
Understand and ask yourself where the meeting is taking place... is it on Zoom? Teams?
This can normally be understood by looking at the meeting invitation as each one has their respective branding in the email. Meeting links will also be labeled 'zoom.us' or 'teams.microsoft.com' and so on.
Do a test run of the conferencing app and any connected devices.
Familiarize yourself with meeting controls and options.
You should be familiar and comfortable with muting/unmuting yourself, selecting your microphone, turning the camera on/off, and sharing your screen.
Prepare: Follow the preparation steps in the tile above for tips to make sure the meeting link and your connected devices (video, audio, screen) are all functioning before the meeting.
Don't wait until the last minute to test your technology
Limit distractions: You can make it easier to focus on the meeting by turning off notifications, closing or minimizing running apps, and muting your smartphone.
Be on time: Also know that scheduled video meetings generally start directly at the scheduled start time, as opposed to in-person meetings where people gather leading up to the scheduled start time.
Avoid messy or cluttered backgrounds: Check out the 'Changing your Background in Zoom' tile on this page to learn more.
Follow the expected rules and guidelinesfor participant interaction: Whether it's an instructor or speaker, the meeting hosts might've designated an expectation for the meeting. Make sure to follow those guidelines to set a good example and participate.
Position your camera properly: Make sure to frame the camera to correctly to show your face or the desired area. Avoid awkward or low angles of body parts or the face.
Keep your device plugged in or be aware of your remaining battery life to avoid power loss during a meeting.
Mute yourself if you're not speaking: To help keep background noise to a minimum, make sure you mute your microphone when you are not speaking.
Adversely, don't forget to un-mute yourself when it's your time to speak!
Who can get Zoom and is there a Cost?
Zoom video conferencing is available at no cost to all actively employed faculty and staff, as well as students who are actively enrolled in classes at UIW.
If you are enrolled or employed under of the School of Osteopathic Medicine, your Zoom account settings and available options might differ from those listed on this page... contact a Software Specialist for specific limitations, inquiries, or concerns.
Features
Zoom helps everyone collaborate online wherever you are and offers features such as...
Hold meetings and classes online
Share screens and content
Chat with video, audio, and text (through an in-meeting chat)
These participants can be "Non-Zoomers" or fully licensed users
How to Get Started
Zoom is accessible online or downloaded to the desktop (local app). UIW highly recommends each user downloads and uses the desktop application due to many features not being available online. Learn about the various differences between Zoom platforms here.
Online Access (web-browser)
Head to Cardinal Apps and click on the 'Zoom' icon to access the online dashboard.
Whenever possible, only share your Zoom meeting link to individuals who will be attending your class or meeting. If your link is shared on social media or within a public realm, anyone who sees the link will be able to attempt to join. All UIW meetings are required to have a single security measure by default, but please be mindful where your Zoom links are being posted
The Zoom plugin for Outlook can prove to be a convenient tool to schedule and populate zoom meetings just as quickly and easily as sending an email. The plugin is available for both Windows and Mac as well as the online version of Outlook
If you're experiencing trouble setting up a personal background, your device might not support them. Review the system requirements for a Zoom virtual background or contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@uiwtx.edu
UIW offers a selection of curated backgrounds to show your school spirit!
By default, UIW IT sets your Zoom settings accordingly so you can have the best experience without having to worry about security or missing features. However, we do empower our users to have some options to turn on/off various settings to customize their Zoom preferences.*
*Some settings are globally set and cannot be changed by individuals. These settings are typically related to security. Please, contact software@uiwtx.edu if there are any questions, comments, or concerns.
First time? Need to test a new setup? Prepare for upcoming Zoom meetings by setting up a Zoom test call. Within your test meeting, you have the ability to check your internet connection, familiarize yourself with Zoom's video conferencing features, and adjust your audio and video before joining the meeting.
Following a Zoom meeting, you might want to gather a report that shows information on attendance, participants, registration (If the security setting was enabled for the meeting), or even polling responses. This information can be gathered after the meeting has concluded by going to your Zoom dashboard via Cardinal Apps.
Educators struggling to understand "How can I structure a classroom environment through Zoom?" can peruse Zoom's educator guide to prepare their space for success.
Important - Participants that join a meeting and have the '(Guest)' moniker at the end of their name are not signed into Zoom with an email address and thus will not be placed in a pre-assigned room. If you plan on pre-assigning breakout rooms, make sure your participants join from Zoom app in Cardinal Apps or have signed into the desktop app.
Focus mode is designed with the digital learning environment in mind, allowing students to stay attentive or work on their tasks while under supervision, without being distracted by others and their tasks.
All recordings of meetings that have been configured to save to the cloud will only be retained for 30 days from the date of the recording. UIW IT recommends routine reviews of all archived content in Zoom to make sure you keep what you need. Please know that, starting with seven days out from the expiration date you'll receive multiple emails alerting you of any expiring content. These emails include instructions, workflow's, and options to move or save the content into another format.
To save a recording 'locally' means to save it directly to the device you're hosting the Zoom meeting from. Please keep in mind, this will take up your hard drive space and could potentially fill up your computer's storage quickly.
To save a recording 'in the cloud' means to save the video, audio, and chat text to online storage, where they can be downloaded and shared from your zoom portal via Cardinal Apps.
Here are some workflow's to learn about or implement that revolve around Zoom recording and video management. If you need help or have feedback, contact the UIW Help Desk
Need help? Check out some helpful resources below...
Start by heading to the Zoom support portal, as it hosts hundreds to thousands of articles on troubleshooting, understanding Zoom's place in elearning, and other common experiences.
Peruse the UIW Help Desk knowledge base for commonly asked how-to articles or contact the Help Desk directly at (210)-829-2721
