Zooming

Teaching or meeting on Zoom? Here are some Zoom tips and tricks that I’ve found useful:

• Update your Zoom account
• Reuse your meeting details with Meeting Templates
• Require pre-registration for your meeting/class
• Add branding to your registration links
• Change your Zoom look

Update your Zoom account

Update your Zoom account to use the latest and greatest features. For the most consistent experience of your meeting registrations, you can encourage to update Zoom.

Reuse your meeting details with Meeting Templates

Zoom does not allow you to copy meetings, but it does offer Meeting Templates. When you have a class that you want to repeat, save it as a template. Then use that template to create another meeting.

To create a template from a new meeting, click Schedule a Meeting.

Or to create a template from a previous or upcoming meeting, select the meeting that you want to use as a template and click Edit.

Enter the meeting details, including description, and click Save.

The bottom of the meeting screen displays additional buttons. Click Save as Template.

A pop-up screen display. You can enter a new name for the template. Click Save as Template.

On the left menu, click Meetings. On the top menu, click Meeting Templates.

Select the template that you want to use by clicking the Use this Template button to the right of the template name.

A new meeting screen displays and is autofilled with details from the template, except for the date and time which are autofilled to the current date and next hour. (For example, if it is 5:32 pm EST then the meeting time defaults to 6:00 pm EST.)

Make any changes and click Save.

Require pre-registration for your meeting/class

1. Collect name and email from students who plan to attend
2. Let Zoom automatically email the meeting code and password to the registrant
3. Include suggested props and set-up for home practice
4. Include a payment link
5. Accept liability waiver from registrant
6. Ask registrant to answer specific questions

When you create a new meeting or edit an existing meeting, check “Required” for Registration.

Click Save.

The meeting saves with a registration link. Any text entered in the “Description” field, where you could add suggested props or materials, payment links, and/or liability waiver text, displays inside the invitation.

Click Copy Invitation.

A pop-up window displays the registration information as text. Click Copy Meeting Invitation and the text is copied to your clipboard. You can share the invitation information through email, social media, or even post to your website.

When a future participant clicks the registration link, he/she is directed to a new page in a web browser. The meeting details display at the top – this is where I added my waiver information and suggested props for a yoga class.

Once the future participant clicks Register, he/she is added to your registration attendee list (inside the meeting in Zoom) and automatically receives an email with the Zoom link required to participate in the meeting. Here’s a sample email:

You have the option to add standard fields to your registration page. You can also add custom questions.

Click Edit on a selected meeting. Scroll to the bottom of the meeting and click the Registration tab. Click Edit on the right side of the screen.

A Registration pop-up window displays. Click the Questions tab. A list of standard Registration Fields displays. Check the box on the left side of the field to add it to your registration form for this meeting. Check the box on the right to make the field required. Click Save All. This saves all of the tabs on the Registration pop-up window.

Select the Type, check Required if you want to force the student to answer, enter the Question text, and click Create.

Click Save All. This saves all of the tabs on the Registration pop-up window.

To receive an email each time a student registers for your meeting, scroll to the bottom of the meeting and click the Registration tab. Click Edit on the right side of the screen.

The Branding options display.

The host receives a simple email when a student registers, as shown below:

In order to see a list of all registrants for a specific meeting, you must log into your Zoom account, click Edit for the meeting. At the bottom of the meeting details, on the Registration tab, to the left of Manage Registrants, click View.

A pop-up screen displays with the list of registrants, as shown below:

Add branding to your registration links

To customize the look of your Zoom meeting, you can add branding.

Click Edit on a selected meeting. Scroll to the bottom of the meeting and click the Branding tab.

The branding options display. Note the image requirements and click Upload.

Select an image from your desktop that you would like to use. Click Open from the selection window, and your new banner displays, as shown below:

The banner displays at the top of your registration link and registration confirmation emails sent to students after they complete their registration.

Change your Zoom look

From inside a Zoom meeting, click the ∧ icon next to the video camera on the lower left side of your Zoom screen. Select Choose Virtual Filter.

A pop-up screen displays with several preloaded Virtual Backgrounds. Click Video Filters to add decorative pictures to your image.

(I selected a party hat. A preview with my selected video filter displayed, as shown below.) To accept the new video filter and return your full screen view, click to X on the top left corner of the pop-up window. To select a different video filter, click a different option.

To remove a video filter: follow the same instructions selecting None for the Video Filter.

From inside a Zoom meeting, click the ∧ icon next to the video camera on the lower left side of your Zoom screen. Select Choose Virtual Background.

A pop-up screen displays with several preloaded Virtual Backgrounds. Click one to apply it to your background.

(I selected the beach scene and Zoom displayed a preview with the select background applied, as shown below.) To accept the new background and return your full screen view, click to X on the top left corner of the pop-up window. To select another background, click a different option.

Using the pop-up window, select a photo to use as your background from images available of your computer. I uploaded a rocky background as shown below:

To remove a virtual background filter: follow the same instructions selecting None for the Video Background.