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Academic Success

Zoom Video Conferencing Tool: Zoom for Students

About Zoom

Zoom is a great tool for meeting with others online. Your professor may be using Zoom to hold classes online. You can also use Zoom to meet with your classmates for group projects or study groups. This guide has information to help you get started with Zoom, including tips and tricks for using Zoom in your groups. It also has links to a few resources to help you if you want more information.

Using Zoom

Getting Started with Zoom

Watch the video below to get familiar with Zoom and to find out how to use it. You can also download a checklist below the video that you can use for your reference as you get set up and start using Zoom.

Getting started with Zoom video transcript.

What is expected of me on Zoom? (Zoom etiquette)

Watch the video below to learn about what is expected of you on Zoom and how to make a good impression. 

Zoom etiquette Video Transcript.

Setting Up a Meeting With Your Group

To schedule your own Zoom meetings, you will need to sign up for a Zoom account. Follow the process below to find out how to schedule a Zoom meeting and join a meeting that you created.

Read the Zoom Security and Privacy Guidelines for Learners to make sure you're protecting the privacy of yourself and others when using Zoom.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom website.
  2. Select Meetings and then Schedule a New Meeting.
  3. Fill in the details and click Save. Note: Make sure to automatically generate a new meeting ID for each meeting. Do not use your personal meeting ID.
  4. Click Copy the invitation.
  5. Paste the meeting invitation into an email and email it to your group members. 

Watch the video below to learn how to schedule a meeting or visit the Zoom support website for more information.

To open your meeting in the Zoom desktop app:

  1. Click Meetings at the top of the app.
  2. Select the meeting and click Start.

To open your meeting from your web browser:

  1. Sign in to your Zoom account.
  2. In your profile, open the Meetings tab.
  3. Click Start beside the meeting.

How do I join a Zoom meeting?

View the information below to find out how to join a regular Zoom meeting and how to access Zoom meetings for your courses in the Zoom Classroom in Brightspace.

How do I join a Zoom meeting?

The host of the meeting will send you an email with the meeting information and link to the meeting.

  1. At the meeting time, open the meeting invitation email.
  2. Click on the meeting link.
  3. If the meeting requires registration, fill in the form and click Register, then click the meeting link.
  4. When prompted, open Zoom or download it if you have not already done so. You will then enter the meeting.

Watch the video below to learn how to join a Zoom meeting or visit the Join a meeting video for more information.

Your professor may set up Zoom meetings for you to join in Brightspace using the following process:

  1. Sign in to Brightspace and open a course.
  2. Under Tools, click Zoom Classroom.

You will be able to see the “Upcoming Meetings”, “Previous Meetings”, and recordings if available.

Using Zoom Tools

View the information below to find out how to use features like sharing your screen or recording a meeting.

When you are meeting with others using the desktop app, you can share your screen.

  1. Click Share Screen from the bottom menu.
  2. Choose to share your entire screen, a whiteboard, or a specific application.
  3. Click Share.

Watch the video and read the instructions on this Zoom article about Sharing your screen.

  1. When viewing a shared screen, click Annotate at the top of the window.
  2. Add text, draw, etc. on the screen.

Tip: you can annotate on your own shared screen or on a screen shared by another group member.

Read more info here: Using annotation tools on a shared screen or whiteboard.

  1. Click Record at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Press the Stop button in the top left to end recording.

For more info, watch the video below or read the following articles:

Tips and Tricks for Using Zoom

You can use Zoom tools such as these to participate. If you can’t see these tools at the bottom of your meeting window, click More to see more tools.

  • You can "annotate" a shared screen. When you're seeing a screen that was shared by you or someone else in the meeting, you can add text, circle things you don’t understand, and more. Just click the annotate tool from the options drop-down menu at the top of the screen.
  • Use a whiteboard. When you click Whiteboard at the bottom of the window, you can choose to share a built-in virtual whiteboard. You and your group members can add text, draw on the screen and more.
  • Add comments in the chat. If you're meeting with your professor and the rest of your class, they might have everyone else's microphone muted to cut down on noise. You can still participate by adding comments in the chat box. 
  • Send and receive files in the chat. If there is something you want to share with your group members or professor, you can send it through the chat feature. Your professor may also use the chat to send files to the class.
  • Take Notes. If you’re brainstorming with other members of the meeting, or taking shared meeting notes, you can create and share a note document from within your meeting. Access your notes again later in the Zoom app.
  • Turn on captions. Zoom has built-in captions that improve the accessibility of meetings. Click Show Captions in your meeting to turn them on.

Strategies for Meeting and Presenting

View the information below to find out how to use features like sharing your screen or recording a meeting.

Watch the video below to learn strategies for working with your peers using Zoom.

How to be successful when working with classmates using online platforms like Zoom Video Transcript.

Watch the video below to learn strategies for delivering a presentation online using Zoom.

How to present a presentation online Video Transcript.

Zoom Resources

Contact Us

If you have questions about Zoom or this guide, contact the following services for assistance:

Free Coaching

Coaching is provided by the Student Learning Centre (SLC), at no cost, to help students improve their skills. We offer support in Computers, Math, ESL, Writing and more! Check out the Coaching website for more information