Zoom Faculty Guide
Zoom Faculty Guide
Zoom at Barnard
Zoom is the videoconferencing software that Barnard uses for online course delivery. It is integrated with CourseWorks (Canvas) and Panopto to create a more seamless experience for students and faculty.
If you are teaching in a remote or hy-flex modality, please set up your Zoom class sessions prior to the start of the semester. Instructions for setting up class sessions can be found in the Scheduling Zoom Sessions section.
Below, we've provided guidance for using Zoom at Barnard. If you need additional Zoom help, please reach out to courseworks@barnard.edu and we'll be happy to assist you.
Pro Accounts
All Barnard faculty should have access to a Zoom Pro account. TAs and other staff members who need Zoom Pro accounts can request them by emailing us at courseworks@barnard.edu. Zoom Pro accounts are not provisioned to undergraduates, including preceptors.
To confirm whether or not you have a Zoom Pro account, navigate to columbiauniversity.zoom.us and log in with your UNI and password. Once you've logged in, click on the person icon in the upper right corner, and check whether it says "Basic" or “Licensed” next to your name and email address.
If you appear to have a Pro account and are having issues accessing Zoom in CourseWorks, see the Troubleshooting Account Errors in CourseWorks section below for more information.
Troubleshooting Account Errors in Courseworks
If you're receiving an error message when you try to access Zoom Class Sessions in Courseworks, you can most often fix the issue by switching your primary email address in Courseworks to your @columbia.edu email address. This is because Zoom accounts are provisioned to your @columbia.edu address.
How to Change Your Primary Email Address in Courseworks
- If you haven't already, you'll want to set up UNI mail forwarding to your Barnard email address. This ensures that any email sent to your Columbia account will be sent to your Barnard account, so you'll have access to it. Note that it can take up to 15 minutes for the mail forward to take effect.
- Once mail forwarding is set up, login to Courseworks (Canvas).
- Click Account in the left-hand side navigation bar. In the menu that pops up, select Settings.
- On the settings page, click the + Email Address button (in the Ways to Contact section) and add your Columbia email address in the box that pops up.
- You will then receive a confirmation email. Open that email and confirm the addition of the new address.
- Return to the settings page in CourseWorks. Hover your mouse on the Columbia email address; click on the star that appears to next it. It's now your primary email address, and the Zoom Class Sessions tab should load without issue.
Scheduling Zoom Sessions
Below, we have a video tutorial and written instructions for scheduling your Zoom class sessions in CourseWorks.
Video Tutorial
If you're unable to view the video, please log in to Panopto with your Columbia UNI and password.
Written Instructions
- Log into Canvas Courseworks with your UNI and password and navigate to your course page.
- Click Zoom Class Sessions on the Course Navigation Menu (left column). It will take you to a page that looks like this:
- Click Schedule a New Meeting in the top-right corner of the page.
- Enter the information for the course, including the name, date and time, and duration.
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Note: Duration can only be set in fifteen minute increments. If the duration options don't line up with your class time, it's ok. You can end your session whenever you want. You won't be kicked out of your meeting early or forced to keep it open late
- Click the checkbox for Recurring meeting. You can then choose the recurrence, when class sessions occur, and the end date of the course.
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- Choose your meeting options. The recommended settings can be seen below:
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- Click Save. All of your scheduled class sessions will be listed under Upcoming Meetings on the original Zoom Class Sessions page.
- If you need to edit a class session, click the Topic name (in Blue). Scroll down and click Edit this Meeting. Remember to click Save to save any edits made.
Please note that meetings scheduled through Zoom Class sessions will automatically be available to all students in that class. You can also invite others, such as guest speakers, to these meetings (see our FAQ for more details).
What the Meeting Settings Mean
- Security: It's best to have a passcode enabled for security; students entering the session through CourseWorks will not need the passcode to join (so you don't need to send it out to them). The waiting room means you will need to invidually let students into the session; this can work for small classes but is cumbersome for large lectures.
- Video: You'll likely want to have your video on, as it helps keep students engaged. But for privacy, we suggest setting students' video to off - they can turn it on afterwards
- Audio: Selecting both means students can join from their computers or phones; this is especially helpful for students with limited internet access.
- Meeting Options: Join before host lets students enter the course before you arrive, giving them an opportunity to socialize. Mute participants upon entry means a student won't be interruptive if they join while someone else is speaking; they can unmute themselves when speaking. Authentication is off because it is unnecessarily cumbersome. Recordings to the cloud are on because they're extremely helpful for students. Additional data centers are off because they're not usually useful (though you may want to turn them on if you have a student in Europe, as it will improve their Zoom connection).
Scheduling Other Zoom Meetings
You may sometimes want to set up one-on-one meetings, or meetings that are tied to a specific course. Instead of setting these up on CourseWorks, these meetings should be scheduled through columbiauniversity.zoom.us. After logging in with your UNI and password, click Schedule a Meeting (in the upper right corner). From there you can fill out the form with the relevant information for your meeting. More information can be found in Zoom's documentation on Scheduling Meetings.
There are a few ways to host office hours on Zoom, depending on your preference:
- You can schedule office hours through Zoom in CourseWorks, following the same process you would for a class. Just change the topic from the course name to "Office Hours".
- You can use your Personal Meeting Room for office hours. To find your personal meeting room, navigate to Zoom Class Sessions in CourseWorks, and then click the "Personal Meeting Room" tab at the top. Use the join URL to start the meeting, and give it to students so they can join office hours as well.
- You can schedule meetings with students directly through Zoom. To do so, go to columbiauniversity.zoom.us, sign in with your UNI and password, and click schedule a meeting. Then send the meeting invite to the student.
With all of these methods you can enable the waiting room. With a waiting room enabled, you have the option of letting in students into the call one at time or in small groups, while the rest wait outside. This allows for more student privacy.
Starting a Zoom Session
- Log into Canvas Courseworks with your UNI and password, and navigate to the page for your course.
- Click Zoom Class Sessions on the Course Navigation Menu (left column). It will take you to a page that looks like this:
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- Find the session that corresponds to the current date and time (it should be near the top of the page) and click the Start button.
- If it’s your first time using Zoom, you will be prompted to download the application. Please follow the instructions that are on your screen for download.
- You will then have the opportunity to link the audio from your computer. Click Join with Computer Audio.
Teaching in Zoom
Zoom has many features and tools that can make it easier to hold class discussions, encourage engagement, and share content. Below, we list some of the most helpful tools in Zoom. Click on the name of each tool to view a guide on how to use it.
If you're new to a tool or a feature, we recommend trying it out before using it during class. That way, you'll have an opportunity to see how it works and can reach out if you need assistance.
Facilitating Discussion & Participation
The Manage Participants tools lets you mute or unmute students, turn off a student's webcam, limit screensharing privileges, and control who is allowed in the meeting.
The in-meeting chat feature is often used to share links with the class or as a space for students to ask questions. Additionally, you can take attendance by asking each student to write their name in the chat
The raise hand feature lets students show when they want to speak. We recommend letting students know if you plan on using the raise hand feature to moderate discussion
Gallery view (also known as the "Brady Bunch" view) lets you see many students at once. It can be useful if you want to visually scan the room.
Polls are useful for soliciting student opinions, seeing if students understand the material, and building community (they can make good ice breakers). It's easiest to administer a poll if it's been set up before class begins.
Adding an alternative host allows another Pro account user, such as another faculty member or TA, to start and manage a meeting with the same abilities as the host. Alternative hosts can be designated in a meeting’s settings before the meeting has started.
Adding a co-host allows the selected participant, such as a TA or preceptor, to handle administrative tasks like managing attendees. Co-hosts can only be assigned once the meeting has started, and therefore cannot start meetings on their own.
Sharing Content
The screen share function is very helpful if you'd like to share a website, document, slideshow or other content on your computer with your class. Students can also share their screen with the class.
You can share videos through screen share, but you should make sure you've optimized your screen share setting for video.
If you're presenting a PowerPoint through screenshare, there are some additional tips to make the process run more smoothly.
Zoom whiteboards let you type and draw on a screen that your students can see. They can also participate!
You can annotate your screen while sharing it - and your students can join in as well!
This is useful if you want to share a podcast, music, or other audio-only content.
Breakout Rooms (Small Group Discussion)
Breakout rooms let you divide the Zoom session into smaller groups, which can be great for encouraging student discussion or working on group projects. A couple things to note when using breakout rooms:
- Zoom has been updated so that both hosts and co-hosts can now create and administer breakout rooms! However, only hosts can pre-assign breakout rooms, and only hosts can receive notifications for help from the people in the breakout rooms.
- If you plan to pre-assign breakout rooms, please follow the instructions below. We've discovered a bug when you try to pre-assign breakout rooms, and the instructions below give you a workaround.
Meeting hosts and co-hosts can create breakout rooms, message breakout rooms, and decide when to close them. They can also move amongst the rooms to check-in with students.
Lets you set up your breakout rooms in advance of the Zoom session. Students must be logged into Zoom with their Barnard/Columbia account for this to work.
Course Recordings
We highly recommend recording all course sessions; this can be extremely helpful for students in other time zones, students with disabilities, students with poor internet connections (or other technical difficulties), or students who miss class due to illness. Here's what you should know about course recordings:
- As shown in the scheduling Zoom sessions section, you can set up your courses to record automatically to the cloud
- There are options for controlling what gets shown in your recording.
- Recordings are not available immediately; they first need to be processed. The processing generally takes about twice the meeting length (An hour-long meeting would take about 2 hours to be processed).
- Cloud recordings will be automatically sent to Panopto, Columbia's video hosting platform.
- You and your students can find recordings by navigating to your course in CourseWorks, and then clicking the Class Video Recordings (Panopto) link in the left-hand side navigation. Recordings are also stored in the Cloud Recordings tab in the Zoom Class Sessions section for 30 days before being removed. It is recommended to direct students to the Course Video Recordings (Panopto) section to ensure they have consistent access to recordings.
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Screenshot of the Panopto section of a CourseWorks site, where you'll now find course recordings.
Keeping Zoom Sessions Secure
We all want to prevent unwanted intruders from entering courses (also known as "Zoom-bombing"). By default, Zoom Class Sessions require a password. For extra security, you may want to check off the option for a waiting room. This means you will need to approve all attendees before they can join, so it may not be the best option for large course.
During a Zoom call, there are additional actions you can take to keep your meeting secure. You can find these security tab, located in the bottom-left corner of your call window. These options include:
- Lock meeting
- Enable waiting room
- Allow students to share screen, chat, rename themselves or unmute themselves
For more information on protecting your Zoom meeting, take a look at Columbia's Zoom Privacy and Security information, as well as Zoom's Best Practices for Securing Your Virtual Classroom.
Zoom FAQ
Zoom is available in most countries. For students in China, there are some special instructions for using Zoom:
- Students from China are recommended to download the Chinese-native Zoom client for Zoom sessions at https://zoom.com.cn/download
- Students are able to participate in Zoom sessions with 100% success and clarity, including audio, video, chat, and polling.
- However, students can only join existing sessions. They cannot schedule their own Zoom.
- Please note: the Chinese-native Zoom client does not work in Hong Kong.
However, there are a few countries where students may not be able to access Zoom:
- Cuba
- Iran
- North Korea
- Syria
- Ukraine (Crimea Region)
If you have a student who cannot access Zoom, we can talk through alternative options. Reach out to us at courseworks@barnard.edu.
There are two recommended options for taking attendance in Zoom:
- You may ask students to type their full name into the chat, then save the in-meeting chat.
- You can generate a meeting report from Zoom. To do this:
- Log into Zoom at https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/account/my/report (log in with your UNI)
- Find the course session. In the “Participants Source” column, click on the number and you'll be able to see information about all your participants.
- You can also download this meeting info as a CSV file.
Yes, because of the possibility of copyright infringement, not all streaming videos can be screen shared in Zoom. While showing a movie clip in class might be fair use, Zoom doesn't know that you're showing that clip for educational purposed - and may block it out. Here are a few ways you can share video on Zoom:
- YouTube
- Kanopy (certain titles available in CLIO)
- Sharing a DVD through VLC player
- If the video is a Zoom recording, open up Panopto and navigate to the video. If the video isn't a course recording, please download it from columbiauniversity.zoom.us and upload it to Panopto.
- Go to the video settings, and click on captions, in the left-hand navigation.
- Click the "order" button - this will start the auto-captioning process. You can then close the settings window (ignore the field about uploading captions).
- When the auto-captions are ready, you'll want to review and edit, since there are often mistakes in auto-captioning. You can do this by clicking the edit button for the video.
- On the left-hand side menu, navigate to the captions section. You can then click into any caption to edit the text.
If you have a guest speaker, you can send them a Zoom invitation for you class session. To do so:
- Navigate to you Zoom Class Sessions in CourseWorks
- Click the Topic name (in blue); this will take you to the meeting details
- Scroll down to Invite Attendees; click copy the invitation
- A pop-up window will appear; click copy the invitation again
- Paste the invitation into an email and send it to your guest speaker
Note: If your class sessions are set up as a recurring meeting, the invitation will include all that dates of the class. You can edit the invitation to your liking once you've pasted it into an email.
The Virtual Background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom Meeting. Make sure your computer meets the system requirements for Virtual Background.
- Sign in to the Zoom desktop client
- Click your profile picture, then click Settings
- Select Virtual Background
- Check I have a green screen if you have a physical green screen set up. You can then click on your video to select the correct color for the green screen
- Click on an image to select the desired virtual background or add your own image by clicking + and choosing if you want to upload an image or a video
There is a collection of Barnard images to use as your virtual background on Zoom.