In this supportive guide you will find resources on how to use this tool in your teaching. 

  • For general information about Zoom, please see back to the tool's main page.
  • For details on technical help with this tool, please refer to the support section on the main tool page.

Overview

Zoom is a video and audio conferencing tool which allows students and instructors to meet virtually. Whether working one-on-one or in small groups, Zoom makes it easy to collaborate, share screens and presentations and annotate shared documents.

Teaching examples

Enhance

Recording your Zoom virtual meetings allows students to access these recordings from within Canvas to view later. This practice makes your content accessible to students who may have missed your session or who need to re-watch the lecture for other reasons. Note that cloud recordings are stored for 120 days but you can setup Panopto to automatically import Zoom cloud recordings, so that you can keep them for longer.

Live captions in Zoom is easily enabled. Once enabled it helps all students follow what is being said, but especially those with slower processing speeds and those whose first language is not English. If you are looking to increase student activity in your virtual sessions consider using the meeting reactions and non-verbal feedback function. This is particularly useful if students have their cameras off and you want to know if they are engaged or if you ask them a yes/no question.

Use Zoom as part of a set up for a do-it-yourself document camera.

Extend

Breakout rooms allow you to sort your students into smaller groups so that they can work collaboratively on projects , brainstorm ideas or discuss topics. You can choose to pre-assign students to rooms before a meeting starts or you can create the breakout rooms once the meeting has started and have students select which meeting room they would like to join. Small group work may encourage quieter students to participate more fully in class and ensures that their voices are heard. This is particularly important if you have a larger class which may intimidate some students and prevent them from taking part in activities.

Empower

Zoom has a function that enables students to share their screens. They can share documents, images, results from a survey or medical test and then other participants can annotate what is being shared. They can make comments, highlight different areas or give feedback. Once completed the annotated image can be saved and shared with students later.

To empower students, use the technology in a way that helps them in the professional environment. For example- medical students who have to practice taking a patient's history can take each other's histories, record and review these interactions and give each other feedback on the process.

Resources to support