Zoom is approved and is integrated with the LMS.

What is Zoom?

Zoom is a tool to meet online with video and audio conferencing in groups or one-to-one with the ability to share your screen, present information, and annotate shared documents or whiteboards. 

What is the purpose of Zoom?

  • Web conferencing online meeting platform for groups or individuals.
  • Collaborate using shared online work tools.

Why use Zoom?

Zoom can be used to schedule synchronous online classes, team meetings, or web events. Participants can join from anywhere and do not need to create an account to participate. Zoom offers a scheduling tool to easily create invitations for future events, or users can set up meetings spontaneously by meeting in their own private room. 

In group meetings, Zoom offers several pedagogical tools including breakout rooms, chat, whiteboard, polling, and screen sharing. Users can collect usage and participation data and record sessions. Instructors can use Zoom within Canvas to hold virtual office hours, support group projects, and bring in remote guest lecturers.

Learning Technology Ecosystem (LTE) Principles

Zoom most directly address these LTE goals:

Accessible - Learning must be found easily at any time, and all learners and teachers have equitable access, regardless of culture, language, ability etc.  

Designed to enable connection - Learners exist in accessible networks, and connect to the experiences, concepts, people, and ideas that they need.

 

Best Practices

DO

DON'T

 Share your webcam video along with your audio.

 Require participants to always use their camera.

 Sharing desktop, applications, or documents in real time.

  Forget to consider time zone differences when scheduling. 

Use to pre-schedule meetings.

 Record meetings for those that cannot attend. 

 Use built-in polling for gathering feedback from students.

 Set up breakout rooms for smaller groups to facilitate collaboration and communication. 

Use for interactive student participation with whiteboard annotation tools.

 Enable closed captions to improve accessibility.

Support for Zoom

Technical Support

(Why isn't this working?)

USask IT supported

 

Training Support

(How do I learn to use this tool?)

USask IT supported

USask Partner Supported

Vendor Supported

Teaching Support

(How do I teach with this tool?)

Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning Supported

Tool Evaluation

Technologies are evaluated based on their alignment with the Learning Technologies Ecosystem Principles.  Click to see explanations of each principle and a justification of the rating. You can also view a complete blank rubric to see more details or read about the assessment process.

Learning must be found easily at any time, and all learners and teachers have equitable access, regardless of culture, language, ability etc. 
More Information

Rating: Works well

  • Accessibility standards:
    • Zoom has support for common accessibility guidelines including accommodations for screen readers, users with low vision, and keyboard shortcut management on some computers.

  • Cost of use for USask students:
    • There is no cost for USask students to access Zoom. All aspects can be used free of charge.

  • Platform/device:
    • Users can effectively use Zoom with any standard, up-to-date device or browser. Accessible through a variety of platforms and devices. Mobile access is available through mobile application for major smartphones.

  • Offline Access:
    • Users can opt to call in for meetings without accessing video, although core functionality is affected.

Learning is a process of meaning-making, constructed through learning with others, and as a part of an intentional, deliberate system within a course and across experiences.
More Information

Rating: Moderate concerns

  • Collaboration:
    • Designed to support synchronous opportunities for communication, interactivity, and transfer of meaning between users. 
    • Students can more easily collaborate in breakout rooms. 
    • All users can easily share ideas and responses via chat function 
  • Sharing:
    • Sharing is possible but not a key part of functionality. Teachers can share video content through recordings or live streams. Users are not able to share content as widely. 
    • Students can more easily share their screens within breakout rooms.

Learning is most effective when systems are designed to help learners find, create, and/or repurpose significant content for the value of themselves and others.
More Information

Rating: Serious concerns

  • Creating:
    • Zoom allows users to participate in making content (chat, conversation, whiteboard) but it’s primary use is not for content generation. 

  • File format:
    • Meeting recordings can be shared via hyperlinks or exported as .mp4 or .m4a files. These are common file types that can be edited in most video editing software.

Learners create and control spaces for learning, understanding and retaining ownership, and purposefully choosing how and when they share.
More Information

Rating: Moderate-serious concerns

  • Archiving, saving, and exporting data:
    • Instructors can archive and save recordings of meetings to share with users. Instructors may upload and transfer files to students using Zoom. Activity data cannot be exported. 

  • Data privacy and ownership:
    • There may be limitations to whether users maintain ownership of their intellectual property and data. The Zoom privacy statement can be viewed at: https://zoom.us/privacy   

  • Sign Up/Sign In:
    • Users do not need to create an external account. No personal user information needs to be shared.

  • Customization:
    • Zoom offers limited customization options and is mostly the same regardless of context. 

Learners need to work in a system that is fluid and requires a minimum number of steps in systems that are intuitive and integrated.
More Information

Rating: Moderate concerns

  • Interface:
    • User friendly interface. It is easy for both instructors and students to become skillful with this tool. There is limited opportunity for personalization. 
  • Additional Downloads:
    • Users do not need to download additional software. A desktop application is available for computer users, which slightly enhances functionality. To join a Zoom meeting from your iPhone, iPad, or Android device you will need to install the Zoom app for iOS or Android. 

  • Functionality:
    • Core functionality of the main tool is available on the mobile app, but advanced features may function differently. Accessing Zoom by phone (audio only) will limit functionality.

Learners exist in accessible networks, and connect to the experiences, concepts, people, and ideas that they need.
More Information

Rating: Works well

  • Scale:
    • Zoom is easily scalable for large or small groups with the flexibility to create smaller breakout sessions. 

  • Flexibility of Media:
    • Users can communicate through different channels including audio, video, or textual. Users can also share files via the chat pane. 

  • Engagement:
    • Instructors can use breakout rooms to monitor student learning and interact through video, audio, or chat. 

Learning and feedback are iterative, and assessment comes from multiple sources, including self, peers, teachers, and outside experts.
More Information

Rating: Moderate concerns

  • Feedback:
    • Students can provide feedback through video, audio, or chat functions within Zoom.

  • Engagement:
    • Zoom can enable breakout groups where the instructor can drop in and provide feedback. It can be used to facilitate conversation. Otherwise, this tool is limited in the ways it offers opportunities for instructor involvement.