If you use Zoom for meeting and/or teaching (and don’t we all?), please review the updates and guidance below!
Participants self-selecting Breakout Rooms is now A THING!
I’ve heard from so many of you about this need. Zoom has finally come through! The latest Zoom app update, 5.3.0, includes this ability. Meeting hosts now see this option when setting up breakout rooms: Allow participants to choose room. Please note that in order to have your Zoom meeting participants use this feature, they must be on the latest Zoom mobile or computer app – browser-based Zoom does not support this. Make sure your students/participants have updated their app or downloaded the latest from https://zoom.us/download .
Forcing Passwords on all Meetings is NOT a thing (yet)!
At the end of August, TechConnect sent out a notice saying that by the end of September, all ConferZoom meetings which were not set up with passwords would have passwords imposed upon them by Zoom. However, information on the ConferZoom site now states that Zoom has delayed this change. (By the way, TechConnect email notices are ending up in my Outlook junk. If you aren’t checking your Junk email once in a while, you may want to do so.) (Also by the way, Zoom is apparently going to start calling passwords “passcodes”.)
Zoombombing, sadly, is STILL a thing
While not extensive, I have heard several faculty report “Zoombombing” incidents this fall. This generally consists of an unwanted participant disrupting a Zoom meeting. It’s clear that most incidents of Zoombombing aren’t random “hacks” preventable through passwords on meetings, but rather cases where invited participants are sharing access information with outsiders. Waiting Rooms can help but even those aren’t foolproof (take that word literally), and they do add overhead to running a Zoom meeting. Check out our 2-page Zoom tips which describe a variety of strategies to try to reduce the likelihood/impact of Zoombombing. Most important may be the Security button on the Zoom toolbar to allow you to quickly deal with a disruptor by kicking them out, reporting them to Zoom, and/or shutting off access to certain tools. Also, if you experience Zoombombing, please fill out the Maxient CARE form to report the incident, which will help the college to centrally track this issue.
Privacy Guidance when using Zoom with students from multiple class sections
The college is continuing to explore issues related to privacy regulations and live online interactions with students. For now, please abide by the following:
- Recorded Zoom sessions should only be shared back with the participating class section
- Regular instructional sessions for Zoom classes should only be held with one class section (except for true cross-listed classes)
- Optional/supplemental Zoom sessions that combine students from multiple sections are ok (do give students the option to participate anonymously)
Weird issue with ConferZoom recordings in Canvas modules, on Chrome
A ConferZoom cloud recording shared as a singular linked item in a Canvas module, set to open within Canvas rather than in a new tab, for unknown reasons now fails to play back properly in the latest version of the Chrome browser. If you share ConferZoom recordings this way, the simplest fix is to set the link to open in a new tab.
Zoom support info
- If you are still using a free account from Zoom.us, please switch to a fully licensed account through CCC TechConnect. Details about how to do that, along with lots of other Zoom tips and recorded trainings by MiraCosta faculty, are available at https://tic.miracosta.edu/conferzoom
- CCC Tech Connect provides 1 hour training sessions every day on using Zoom. Learn more including how to sign up.
Zoomily yours,
Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Director, Online Education
