Zoom security advice for MiraCosta faculty
To: All MiraCosta faculty and deans
Quick takeaways for Zoom-using faculty from this email:
(1) Use Waiting Rooms, not passwords;
(2) If you use the ConferZoom LTI in Canvas, discontinue that and use conferzoom.org directly.
Details:
As you are likely aware, “Zoombombing” has been in the news. A few incidents have even happened at MiraCosta. Though some, including Zoom, have recommended or required passwords for Zoom meetings in response, it’s also increasingly clear that many or most of these incidents are occurring when students share Zoom meeting access information with others who are looking to cause mischief or worse. Passwords will not stop intruders like this.
Therefore we recommend that you:
- ask students to access your Zoom meetings using their real names;
- remind students that it is a violation of student responsibilities to share Zoom meeting access information with others outside of their class;
- use Zoom’s Waiting Room feature to screen participants.
Please review some tips (with links to tutorials) about how to use the Zoom Waiting Room. If you haven’t already checked it out, please also see our 2-page Zoom tips document, which includes lots of recommendations for running a secure and smooth Zoom meeting.
ALSO: If you have been using Zoom through the ConferZoom LTI in Canvas:
- Passwords appear to have been imposed upon all your meetings this week. We do not understand why this occurred (and it hasn’t happened to anyone who uses ConferZoom direclty), but it is causing problems for many students.
- If you create new meetings through the ConferZoom LTI, passwords are included.
- You are not able to use the Zoom Waiting Room for meetings created through the ConferZoom LTI.
Therefore we recommend discontinuing use of the ConferZoom LTI tool in Canvas. Rather, schedule and manage your ConferZoom meetings and recordings directly through https://conferzoom.org and share the links to your meetings/recordings with your students inside Canvas.
If you have any questions about any of this, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
– Jim
To: All MiraCosta faculty and deans
Quick takeaways for Zoom-using faculty from this email:
(1) Use Waiting Rooms, not passwords;
(2) If you use the ConferZoom LTI in Canvas, discontinue that and use conferzoom.org directly.
Details:
As you are likely aware, “Zoombombing” has been in the news. A few incidents have even happened at MiraCosta. Though some, including Zoom, have recommended or required passwords for Zoom meetings in response, it’s also increasingly clear that many or most of these incidents are occurring when students share Zoom meeting access information with others who are looking to cause mischief or worse. Passwords will not stop intruders like this.
Therefore we recommend that you:
- ask students to access your Zoom meetings using their real names;
- remind students that it is a violation of student responsibilities to share Zoom meeting access information with others outside of their class;
- use Zoom’s Waiting Room feature to screen participants.
Please review some tips (with links to tutorials) about how to use the Zoom Waiting Room. If you haven’t already checked it out, please also see our 2-page Zoom tips document, which includes lots of recommendations for running a secure and smooth Zoom meeting.
ALSO: If you have been using Zoom through the ConferZoom LTI in Canvas:
- Passwords appear to have been imposed upon all your meetings this week. We do not understand why this occurred (and it hasn’t happened to anyone who uses ConferZoom directly), but it is causing problems for many students.
- If you create new meetings through the ConferZoom LTI, passwords are included.
- You are not able to use the Zoom Waiting Room for meetings created through the ConferZoom LTI.
Therefore we recommend discontinuing use of the ConferZoom LTI tool in Canvas. Rather, schedule and manage your ConferZoom meetings and recordings directly through https://conferzoom.org and share the links to your meetings/recordings with your students inside Canvas.
If you have any questions about any of this, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Jim Julius, Ed.D.
[email protected]
