Zoom – could this be the future for learning?
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 4 months then the chances are you will have heard of Zoom. It’s one of the leading cloud based video conferencing software apps on the market. Zoom allows you to virtually interact with co-workers or employers when in-person meetings aren’t possible. And, with the hit of Covid19 it has quickly become a household name – even outside of the workplace. But with the rise of Zoom’s popularity will we start seeing it in schools and universities?
What is Zoom and why is it so popular?
Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing service used to virtually meet with others. You can choose to use video or audio-only or both, it also lets you record those sessions to view later. Handy if you are taking an online lecture and want to re visit information. Zoom is popular because its easy to use. It really is that simple. And, since Coronavirus people have taken to Zoom to keep connected with those they love.
Here are Zoom’s core features:
- One-on-one meetings: Host unlimited one-on-one meetings even with the free plan.
- Group video conferences: Host up to 500 participants
- The free plan, allows you to host video conferences of up to 40 minutes and up to 100 people
- Screen sharing: Meet one-on-one or with large groups and share your screen with them so they can see what you see
- Schedule, host, or join meetings
- Share content and collaborate on documents
- Record meetings locally or to the cloud
- Automatically generate transcripts
- Utilize chat, polls, and breakout rooms
Zoom at university
As a student Zoom enables you to join remote lectures or host/join web conference meetings on or off campus, with anyone, at any time. You can participate in meetings from your home computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. There are already over 1000 universities worldwide who are using this platform to keep lectures going when in lockdown. And, when things start to return to normal, it seems Zoom will be staying for good.
How to use Zoom
- Download the Zoom Client for Meeting from zoom.us/download, the Apple App Store, or Google Play.
- Open and create an account by clicking Sign In with SSO. Alternatively, click Sign Up Free and create an account using a username and password.
- Test your connection visit https://zoom.us/test, or schedule a call with a fellow student
- Click the link that the lecturer has distributed and launch the meeting. Alternatively, within the app click Join and enter the Meeting ID.
- If prompted select to join with your video and computer audio.
- You are now in the lecture – just make sure your microphone is muted when you are not speaking.
One thing is for sure, Zoom has helped to connect the world when disaster struck, and it seems it could be here to stay. And, for many students this year will look very different in terms of learning, but technology such as this will be a welcomed support to help kick start education once more.
If you’re starting at the UEA in Norwich this year then check out our current student lets!