Zoom

Zoom

Zoom is the College's primary platform for video and audioconferencing as well as phone service on campus. All faculty, staff, and students have a Meetings license for up to 300 participants; most faculty and staff have a Zoom Phone license.  LTS manages a limited number of Zoom Webinar licenses. To start using your Zoom account, you need to sign in for the first time.

 

General

 

Zoom Meetings

 

Zoom Phone

 

Zoom Webinars

 

Tech Requirements

  • Meeting hosts should have a device with a microphone, and optionally, a camera. All Mac laptops have a built-in camera and microphone; most recent Windows laptops do as well. 
  • Hosts wanting to share their screen (documents, browsers, slides, video e-reserves, other) should present from a laptop and not a mobile device for best results.
  • Meeting attendees can join using a computer or mobile device.

 

Update Zoom Application

Manually check for updates: 

  1. Sign in to your Zoom application.

  2. Select your profile icon at the top right.

  3. Select Check for Updates.

If you don't see the Check for Updates option, go to https://wellesley.zoom.us/download to install the latest version.

If the Zoom installer is not working, uninstall the current Zoom application and then install the latest version.

Since late 2021 with the release of version 5.8.6, your Zoom application will automatically update. There are two update frequencies: slow and fast. By default the Zoom application is set to slow, which updates less regularly. Fast increases the frequency of updates and includes newer features that may not yet be polished.

 

Managing Cloud Recordings

There is limited cloud recording space for Wellesley Zoom accounts. Please periodically review your cloud recordings and delete videos that are no longer needed. Review the links below.

  • Access: Please follow this link for instructions to access the recordings that belong to you. You will see the date of the recording and the file size of the recording.

  • Delete: Decide which of these can be deleted and follow the instructions in this link. Note that by default the files deleted this way will remain in Trash for 30 days.

  • Download: If you feel that some of these recordings fall in the category of “nice to have”, meaning you are unlikely to use them often but it might be worth archiving, you should consider downloading and saving them either in your own computer or in Google Drive.

 

Meetings vs. Webinars

The College's Zoom Pro license allows for up to 300 participants in a meeting. Webinar licenses increase the particiapant capacity and restrict audience interaction for a more focused event. However webinar licenses are not included. We have a limited number of webinar licenses that can be reserved on a monthly basis to support your events. Costs are the responsibility of your department. Please contact the Help Desk or Media Services for more information. If using a meeting for a public event, see Security Tips and Managing A Secure Public Zoom Meeting for recommended settings.

 

Advanced Features

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Zoom say I need to sign in to join a meeting?

You may not have logged into your Zoom application with your Wellesley College account. See Signing In instructions.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom application with SSO (single sign on).
  2. Use wellesley for the company domain.
How many meetings can I host at a time?

Since we are using Education Zoom accounts, each Wellesley user is able to host 2 concurrent meetings.

In this case "hosting" means that the meeting is using the user's Zoom account and the associated settings. For example, cloud recordings will be saved to the hosting account. Each user can still only attend one meeting at a time, unless they attend 2 simultaneous meetings on one computer or attend on a computer and tablet/smartphone.

If you need to host 2 concurrent meetings, it's best to add an alternative host or enable allow participants to join before host for the meeting.

Scheduling Meetings on Behalf of Others

If you regularly schedule meetings on behalf of others, Zoom has a scheduling privilege feature. When scheduling for another, the meeting will be scheduled in the other person's Zoom account. This frees up the scheduler's Zoom account so they can host a meeting in their own account at the same time if needed. Both the scheduler and account owner can view and edit the meeting.

See Schedule On Behalf Of Others instructions.

Note that every time you schedule a Zoom meeting, the meeting ID will be different.  It is important to schedule meetings within Zoom and not copy/paste invitations from previous meetings.

How do I schedule a meeting I won't be attending?

If scheduling a Zoom meeting in your own account but you won't be attending, you must either:

1. Schedule the meeting with Allow participants to join before host enabled so the meeting can proceed without a host. DO NOT enable the waiting room or particpants may be stuck in the waiting room. To keep the meeting secure enable the passcode instead.

​Note: If scheduling in the Zoom web portal or Zoom application the option is titled "Allow participants to join anytime" but it's the same feature.

2. Schedule a meeting with an alternative host. The alternative host can do the same roles as the original host: admit people from the waiting room, allow screen sharing, mute/unmute participants, etc. It's important that the user assigned as an alternative host sign in to their Zoom application before joining the scheduled meeting.

Note: Assigning an alternative host is not the same as scheduling on behalf of another user. A meeting with an alternative host is still using the scheduler's Zoom account. Thus preventing the scheduler from hosting another meeting at the same time.

Note that every time you schedule a Zoom meeting, the meeting ID will be different.  It is important to schedule meetings within Zoom and not copy/paste invitations from previous meetings.

Common Host Controls & Settings

Zoom has a robust toolkit for Hosts to utilize during their meetings. Hosts can poll users, screenshare, enable chat, split meetings into breakout rooms, and much more. To learn more, check out Zoom’s guide to Host Controls.

The main Host controls are located in the Security, Participants and Chat windows opened from the icons in the Zoom toolbar.

Security:

  • controls what participants are able to do (share screen, use chat, rename themeselves, unmute themselves, start video)
  • Co-Hosts are able to do all functions even if it's disabled in Security

Partcipants window:

Select Participants to open the particpants window.

  • can assign a Co-Host
  • Host/Co-Host can mute mics and turn off cameras
  • Host/Co-Host can't unmute but can select "Ask to unmute" which sends a prompt to the participant

Select More at the bottom right of the participants window.

  • check Play Join and Leave Sound to hear a chime as people join or leave the meeting
  • check Mute All Upon Entry so everyone joins muted (can also be enabled when meeting is scheduled)

Chat window:

Select Chat to open the chat window. Select the 3 dots at the bottom right of the chat window. Choose if participants can chat with: No one, Host and Co-Hosts only, Everyone publicly, or allow Everyone and anyone directly.

Meeting Attendees
  • Test if you are ready to use Zoom here.

  • When you join a meeting, join the audio through your computer OR phone - never both. Joining meetings via both simultaneously will generate audio problems. It is unnecessary to dial the phone number if you choose Join by Computer and have a working speaker or headset.

I'm experiencing audio problems. Help!

If you can’t be heard by other meeting participants check for the following:

  • While in the meeting look at the bottom toolbar. If you see a headphone icon select Join Audio to join computer audio.

  • If you see a line through a mic, your mic is muted. Select Unmute to turn on your mic.

  • If you're not able to unmute the host may have chosen that all participants stay muted.

  • Are your microphone settings set to always active, or push-to-talk?

 

Not hearing audio through your headphones? Want to test your mic?

  • Select the up arrow next to the mic symbol. There you can select your microphone and speaker/headphone device.
  • Test your audio by selecting Test Speaker & Microphone.

 

 

If you join from two devices (ex: a laptop and smartphone) only enable audio on one device. If you are going to dial into a meeting via phone, you must disable your computer audio.

 

If you're a Windows laptop user and you can’t hear anyone, see if you accidentally muted the sound on your laptop by hitting the F1 key.  Press that key again.  If you can hear audio now, then that was the problem.  You can test this by going to a site such as WCRB (https://www.classicalwcrb.org/), which has a live stream.

 

More troubleshooting tips.

Participating via phone from outside the US

Zoom has local dial-in numbers for over 90 countries that can be used for calling into Zoom meetings if an internet connection is not available.  If you or a participant in your meeting will need to connect via phone and not via a Zoom Meeting link (which only requires an internet connection), please use a local dial-in number for the best experience.  Please note we do not have Toll Free numbers available at this time.