Category: Zoom

Important Zoom News / Updates

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 http://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:

  1. Recorded Zoom sessions should only be shared back with the participating class section
  2. Regular instructional sessions for Zoom classes should only be held with one class section (except for true cross-listed classes)
  3. 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

FAQ Followups to Zoom security advice for MiraCosta faculty

Some quick FAQ follow-ups to all recipients of yesterday’s message:

Q: I am confused. What exactly am I supposed to do and not do if I use Zoom?

A: At this point, there are few absolute requirements. You are getting a variety of recommendations to consider. If you are comfortable with the way that you and your students use Zoom, nobody is requiring to you to use extra security measures or change your practice. However, if you use the ConferZoom LTI tool inside of Canvas for scheduling meetings, passwords are automatically imposed upon your meetings, and you do not have the option to use the Waiting Room.

Q: Waiting Room sounds good, but won’t it take a long time to check my roster and admit students? And be a big pain to manage once class starts?

A: This definitely adds time to your use of Zoom. Thus, the recommendations yesterday to try to get students to show up early and be sure to provide their real names as they access your Zoom meeting. Via the Participants window, you have the option to admit everyone in the Waiting Room at once if you can tell that everyone there is legit. Another recommendation was to consider adding a trusted student as a co-host, to help you screen and admit participants from the Waiting Room.

Upon reflection and input from a number of you, I know that not everyone is a master of the class roster. So here’s a shower thought: there could be some creative and fun ways to manage your student names so the admission process is easier (and Zoom becomes more interesting!). Work with your class to decide on a new naming scheme. Be creative but here are some ideas:

  • If everyone is comfortable providing their pronouns, include those. (e.g. Jim Julius (he/him) ).
  • Have everyone pick a descriptive and alliterative adjective to precede their name with. (e.g. Jolly Jim Julius)
  • Have everyone pick something neutral, such as a favorite color, to precede their name with (e.g. Green Jim Julius)

I’m sure you and your class can come up with something! If everyone accesses Zoom with a consistent naming scheme, it will be very easy to tell who can be admitted to the meeting without having to reference your class roster.

Q: I liked using the scheduling tool for online office hours that is built into the ConferZoom LTI. Should I stop using that?

Yeah, that probably was the best thing about the LTI. I am not sure what impact the changes to the way Zoom operates via the LTI will have on that feature, but you could continue to give it a try and see. As an alternative, the Canvas calendar has a pretty great feature for booking office hour time slots. You could use that Canvas scheduler for students to book their times to meet with you at a Zoom meeting link that you set up via conferzoom.org and post inside Canvas.

Q: Did you leave anything out of your message yesterday?

A: Thanks for asking! Yes, one important tip: Please make sure your Zoom client software is up-to-date! If you’re not certain if you have the latest version of the Zoom client, look for a Security shield on the Zoom toolbar when you start your meeting (it has some quick controls for altering security settings during your meetings). District computers should have this software automatically updated. But if you don’t have the latest version of Zoom, you can get it from http://zoom.us/downloads

Q: You’ve given me some great tips on how to use Zoom technically, but how can I make my Zoom sessions more inclusive and meaningful for students?

Great question – just today the Chronicle ran a good article on 8 Ways to Be More Inclusive in Your Zoom Teaching!

Q: Thank you!

A: You are very welcome!

Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Director, Online Education
jjulius@miracosta.edu

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 http://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 http://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.
jjulius@miracosta.edu

Zoom old Conferzoom

Zoom Logo

Zoom provides a reliable, easy-to-use, mobile-friendly tool for live, recordable online presentations, meetings, and discussions with audio, video, chat, screen sharing, polling, and more. It can be used within Canvas or independently.

Zoom and is available to all faculty and students at no charge. Faculty need to sign in to Zoom with their MiraCosta College Login and Password via the SSO link to obtain unlimited pro (“licensed”) access to all features of Zoom, including:

  • Unlimited meeting lengths and very large numbers of attendees
  • Recordings “in the cloud” so that you do not need to manage large files of your recorded meetings
  • Auto-transcription of your cloud-based Zoom recordings

Zoom Support

(UPDATES Needed here)

  • Sign Up – Free for MCC Faculty. Sign up through CCC Tech Connect – not Zoom.us – with your @miracosta.edu email address. If you already have a basic Zoom account through Zoom.us, it’s important to contact TechConnect support to request an upgrade so you have access to the pro features of Zoom mentioned above.
  • CCC Tech Connect conducts one-hour Zoom training sessions from 12–1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 9–10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To participate in a training, please send a request to support@ccctechconnect.org
  • User Guides
  • Support
  • Downloads (Client app, mobile app, browser and Outlook plug-ins)
  • More information about ConferZoom

MiraCosta Zoom how-to videos from faculty

  • Teaching with Zoom (Fall 2020 workshop) – CSIT faculty member Rick Cassoni provides a 1-hour overview of Zoom, from the beginnings of signing up for a Zoom account, to recommended settings within your account and creation of meetings, to the basics of using Zoom for both live and recorded online instruction.
  • Connecting with Students in Zoom (Spring 2020 workshop) – Letters faculty member curry mitchell shares a few simple activities and methods for scaffolding an interactive, collaborative Zoom workshop with students.  curry also discusses flexible and compassionate practices–such as attendance policies and creating asynchronous means for participation–to ensure we’re using Zoom to help each other. (Note, this session included 10 minutes in breakout rooms but the recording was not paused, so you can skip from when that happens at around minute 39 ahead to minute 49 of the recording.)
  • Sharing your iPad screen on Zoom – Math faculty member Angela Beltran-Aguilar demonstrates in this short (under 3 minutes) video how to use an iPad as your sharing source for teaching with Zoom.
  • Capturing a separate screencast of a Zoom session – Psychology faculty member Robert Kelley demonstrates in this very short (under 2 minutes) video how to capture a portion of a Zoom session, excluding student participants, in order to be able to share the recording more widely without FERPA concerns.

Once you have the basics of using Zoom down, review a two page document from Jim Julius full of tips and techniques for using Zoom effectively for teaching.

Zoom Teaching Tips: Inclusion, Security, and more

Captioning for ConferZoom

  • Zoom cloud recordings auto-transcribe and caption recorded Zoom sessions within a few hours (typically) of completion of the recording. Zoom’s interface makes it easy to fix up the captions so they are fully accurate.
  • If you have a student who requires live captions and you are using Zoom, please contact MiraCosta DSPS.
    • You will need to make a one-time change in your Zoom account settings to enable live captioning, and at the start of each Zoom session with captioning, you will need to assign the captioning role to the proper person in your meeting. See directions for both.
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