Zoom is one of many web conferencing tools, but it has grown quickly in popularity in part because it offers a lot of capabilities for free, and also is well regarded as a reliable, high quality conferencing tool that works easily and effectively. Most people will encounter Zoom simply through a meeting that has been set up by someone else, but it's available for you to use as needed, at no cost.
How to Sign Up for a Free Zoom Account
1. You can start by going to http://zoom.us/ and sign up for a free account by entering your email address.
2. Click the activation email from Zoom.
3. Fill in the form with your name and password
4. Once you have an account, download the Zoom program here https://zoom.us/download
How to Schedule a Zoom Meeting for an Online Class
1. Open the Zoom Desktop app on your computer
2. Click “Home” at the top left
3. Click “Schedule”
4. Enter all relevant details like time, date, topic, etc.
5. Pick your online calendar of choice (Google Calendar is great if you have Gmail or a Google account) and you’ll be taken to a page with your Zoom link. You can send this link to your students in your online calendar’s meeting scheduler.
How to Share Your Screen
Screen sharing is really important for presenting to your class. This button allows you to share your computer screen with everyone on the Zoom meeting.
Screen sharing is very easy with Zoom, all you need to do is click the green “Share Screen” button at the bottom during your meeting. Then you’ll click which screen you’d like to share (the top left one is what you’ll most likely use).
How to Use Zoom Whiteboards
Zoom Whiteboards are another feature that seems tailor made for teachers. To get to the Whiteboard, click “Share Screen” at the bottom of the Zoom window and then click “Whiteboard.”
ou then have a cool drawing tool that acts like a virtual whiteboard! Pretty cool, right?
Happy teaching out there.