For successful meetings, we recommend finding an appropriate space, testing your equipment, utilizing Zoom's resources, and making your meeting inclusive to all. Using these best practices, you can create safe, effective, and inclusive meetings.
Scheduling Your meeting
Before Your Meeting
General Recommendations
- We recommend using a quality camera and headset with a dedicated microphone.
- Find a quiet, distraction-free area. Zoom also has options to optimize video and audio such as blurring your background or filtering background noise.
- When possible, use a wired Internet connection
- Test your audio and video either by:
- Joining a Zoom test meeting, or;
- Joining your meeting ahead of the official start time to adjust video and audio as necessary
- Mute notifications on your device to prevent distractions, especially when sharing content
- Familiarize yourself with the meeting controls that Zoom has available
- Familiarize yourself with Zoom’s accessibility settings. These can be located in your Zoom client > Settings > Accessibility. Some notable options include:
- Changing font size for closed captions
- Dimming your screen share video when flashing lights and other patterns are detected
- Enabling screen reader alerts for certain activities (audio muted, video stopped, etc.)
- Communicate with Participants by providing them resources and instructions ahead of time. Some examples include:
- Posting resources used during the meeting on WebCampus or via email to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to access them if they are unable to access the Chat or see the screen
- Providing Zoom keyboard shortcuts
- Let Participants know of the Zoom features they can use during the meeting to ask questions or communicate
- Enable “Always Show Meeting Controls”. By selecting the “Always Show Meeting Controls” checkbox, the controls at the bottom of the zoom screen will remain up.
- This improves the user experience as you don’t have to worry about the bar appearing and disappearing upon hover.
- In your Zoom web account, navigate to the In Meeting (Basics) section of the Meeting Settings page > enable the Always show meeting control toolbar setting.
- Enable audio transcripts for cloud recordings
Recommendations for Teaching
- Familiarize yourself with Zoom meeting controls, and what features you may want to use in instruction that you can inform students about (raising hand, etc.)
- Join the class meeting 5 to 10 minutes in advance to set up materials and ensure your audio and video are working
- Prior to instruction, check in with your class regarding their familiarity with using Zoom meeting controls (muting/unmuting and other basic procedures). Provide links to the UNLV Zoom website, and IT Help Desk for them to reference.
- You can also use a landing page in your WebCampus course that contains all the resources that students would need to be successful in using Zoom. For ideas, refer to our sample landing page template
- Prepare for potential issues, such as students being unable to see the screen or your audio cutting out. Some ways to mitigate these unexpected disruptions:
- Share the class PowerPoint over WebCampus, and provide students with links to resources they may need to access in class in advance
- Give them the OIT Help Desk phone number: 702-895-0777
- Record your Zoom meetings or use Panopto to capture your lectures for asynchronous viewing in case a student requires an accommodation or misses class due to technical issues
- Give students information about how to join a Zoom meeting by phone if computer audio is not working
During the Meeting
General Recommendations
- Lock the meeting after most or all Participants have joined
- Use the Mute All feature to curb disruptions, such as an unmuted Participant with background noise or feedback. Alternatively, you can enable Mute Participants Upon Entry
- If sharing a video, application, or window that contains sound, ensure that you check the box Share Sound prior to sharing content
- Enable Focus Mode during independent work to minimize distractions and keep Participants focused
- Record meetings so they are available for Participants later.
- Enable manual captions if required. Be familiar with how to assign a participant to type closed captions should a request arise.
- Show Captions during a meeting for live, auto-generated captions.
- Use the Spotlight feature for active speakers, ASL interpreters, or other notable speakers that you wish to keep in Participants’ focus during the meeting
- Spotlight is also essential for highlighting active speakers in a recording
- Do not assume all Participants can see visuals, annotations, or the Chat. To promote inclusivity and ensure all Participants know what is going on in the meeting, be sure to describe visuals and annotations, as well as repeat relevant comments and questions sent in the Chat
Recommendations for Teaching
- Check the Chat or for Raised Hands while instructing, or create times to check these
- To have students parse out key concepts or explore lesson topics, consider utilizing Breakout Rooms, where students can engage in small-group discussion
- To receive whole-class feedback during instruction on simple questions (e.g., “Who has taken an introductory English course?”), consider encouraging Nonverbal Reactions. This allows you to gather feedback instantly from all or most of your class
- To incorporate interactivity throughout the class session, allow for whole-class feedback, automatically generate breakout rooms based on responses, and more, consider utilizing Zoom’s Polls/Quizzes feature
- To show students a presentation, video, or application to enhance their learning and allow them to stay on track during instruction, consider Sharing Your Screen
- To bring the entire class together to collaborate through symbols, text, and art on a shared platform, consider using Whiteboards
- Zoom breaks: Depending on the length of your class, students may need a screen break. You can allocate a few minutes for screen/stretching breaks.
After Your Meeting
General Recommendations
- Import your meeting recordings to Panopto and add ASR captions
- When sharing meeting recordings with students in Zoom, check the audio transcripts to ensure that the text is accurate to the audio
- Include a follow-up informing Participants that captioned recordings and audio transcripts are available
Recommendations for Teaching
- Consider asking students about how they felt using Zoom tools and how these tools effected their learning experience
- Encourage students to ask questions about Zoom or other technology tools used in your instruction
- Direct students to UNLV resources for any technology assistance
Need Additional Help?
For additional assistance, please visit the Zoom Knowledge Base for additional articles. You can also contact the IT Help Desk.
You can also refer to Zoom Support's article on Troubleshooting Audio Issues and their resource portal on Troubleshooting Video Issues.