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Using Zoom

Learn how to use Zoom for your online activities, including creating a free account, scheduling live sessions, adding meeting links to Sawyer, and recording.

Written by Dana Browne

📝 Overview

Learn how Zoom works for your online activities and what to expect when you use it.

Zoom is a video communication platform for live video, audio, chat, and screen sharing. You can use it to meet with students who join from a computer or smartphone, and you can record a session and share the video with families afterward. Zoom includes chat, live video, and screen sharing, along with the ability to annotate during a screen share, which works like an interactive whiteboard. You can also share computer audio, which is useful when you play a pre-recorded video.

⚠️ Time limit: Free meetings end after 40 minutes. Paid plans allow longer meetings.

🛠️ Setup

Learn how to create a free Zoom account, schedule your first live session, and add the meeting link to Sawyer.

🔑 Create a Free Zoom Account

  1. Go to the Zoom sign-up page here.

  2. Select the Sign Up Free button in the upper right corner of the page.

  3. Create your account using a work email, Google account, or Facebook account.

📆 Schedule Your First Live Session

Schedule a Zoom meeting for each session you plan to hold.

  1. Sign in to your Zoom account.

  2. Open the option to schedule a new meeting.

  3. Enter the name of your class as the meeting topic.

  4. Choose the date and time.

  5. Set the length of the meeting.

  6. Choose your video and audio settings, then add any other meeting options you want.

  7. Save the meeting.

💡 You can join a test meeting here to get familiar with Zoom before your first session.

🔧 Add Your Zoom Link to Sawyer

Add your Zoom meeting link to your online activities in Sawyer so students and families receive it. Learn how to create and edit online activities here.

  1. Copy the Join URL from your Zoom meeting.

  2. In the scheduled activity setup in Sawyer, paste the Join URL into the Class Link field. This sends an automatic reminder email 30 minutes before class.

  3. If you want students to see the link before they sign up, paste the Join URL into the Activity Description under Listings.

  4. To send the Join URL manually, select the Message a Roster button on any roster page.

📱 Joining a Session

Learn how students and families can join your session.

Participants can join from an email or calendar invite, from the Zoom Workplace app on a computer or mobile device, from a web browser, or by phone. Joining from the app gives the best meeting experience. If the app isn’t installed, the join link prompts participants to download it. Participants may be placed in a waiting room until you admit them.

💡 To start your session, select Start on the meeting card in the Zoom Workplace app. Participants select Join.

🖥️ Recording Sessions

Learn what recording options are available for your sessions.

Computer recording lets hosts and participants record meetings directly on their devices. Recordings can include video, shared content, audio, chat messages, and closed captions. Computer recording is available on free and paid accounts, but only on the Zoom desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Account owners and admins control whether computer recording is turned on. If you are an admin, you can review and change that setting here.

💡 Need more help? For additional Zoom guidance, visit the Zoom Support Center here.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.

Can participants join without downloading the app?

Click the arrow to see the answer

Yes, participants can join from a web browser. The host must turn on the setting that displays a “Join from your browser” link. The browser version has limited features, so the app offers the best meeting experience.

Can I record a session from a phone or tablet?

Click the arrow to see the answer

No, computer recording isn’t supported on iOS, iPad, or Android devices. For mobile recording, Zoom refers to cloud recording, which requires a paid account.

Do I need a Zoom account to schedule sessions?

Click the arrow to see the answer

Yes. The steps in this article begin with creating a free Zoom account, which you use to schedule and start your sessions.

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