You may have noticed that we’ve moved to hosting our events on Zoom now. We’re finding that Zoom is the easiest and most accessible platform for us to use for online meetings that has all the safeguarding elements that we require.
That being said, we know it may feel like yet another app you have to get to grips with, so we thought we’d share a couple of simple steps for getting set up on Zoom and able to access our online events.
There are also lots of comprehensive guides on using Zoom with specific devices and accessibility software available from other sources.
This is a simple guide offering a basic understanding of how to get started with Zoom to access LOOK events.
Download Zoom to your device
The Zoom app is available on iOS and Android by searching for ‘Zoom Cloud Meetings’ in the app store.
Alternatively, you can download the Zoom client for your laptop or desktop here.
Using the Zoom app on your phone/tablet or the client on your computer is a very similar experience – they’re both simple and accessible – so it’s really down to you which you’d prefer.
Creating your free account
You can do this through Zoom directly by either tapping on ‘sign up’ which will lead you to create an account, or tapping ‘sign in’ which allows you to sign in using your existing Facebook or Google account.
If you choose ‘sign up’, you’ll need to fill in your details and verify your email address by clicking on the link in the confirmation email sent to you.
If signing in with Facebook or Google, you’ll just need to allow permissions for the accounts to share your details with Zoom.
Joining a Zoom meeting
You can access a Zoom meeting by clicking on the link provided by the meeting host, which will automatically open your Zoom app and take you directly to that meeting.
Each meeting also has an individual meeting ID and password. If for any reason the link isn’t taking you straight to the meeting, you can join the meeting by finding ‘join meeting’ in your app and inserting the ID and password when prompted.
We’d recommend joining Zoom meetings via the internet rather than by phone wherever possible so as to avoid unnecessary charges.
For LOOK events, the meeting joining info is usually shared by email one hour before the meeting start time.
The ‘Waiting Room’
When you’ve successfully entered the meeting details, you’ll arrive in the meeting ‘waiting room’. This is a feature that we use to verify participants before allowing them to join a meeting.
The meeting host is able to see when you’re in the ‘waiting room’ and be able to ‘admit’ you into the meeting.
Please make sure your name is clearly displayed so that you are easily identifiable when in the ‘waiting room’.
Audio and Video
When you enter a meeting, an option will pop up on your screen asking you to ‘enable internet audio’. You’ll need to select ‘enable internet audio’ so that other participants in the meeting can hear you.
Once you’ve done this, at the bottom of the screen you’ll find options for ‘mute/unmute my audio’ and ‘start/stop my video’. You can tap on these to toggle between allowing other participants in the meeting to see and hear you.
We ask that people mute themselves when not speaking to improve the audio quality as much as possible.
The ‘Chat’
The chatbox can be found at the bottom of your screen, near the audio and video settings. If using the app, you may need to find ‘more’ at the bottom of the screen first, then ‘chat’ should be the first available option.
When you’ve entered the chat panel, you can select who to send your message to from a drop-down list of recipients, and write your message in the edit box below. Then press ‘send’ to send your message.
The chat thread will appear above the message edit box and can be navigated with arrow keys or by scrolling.
We may encourage participants to use the ‘chat’ during webinars or panel events.
Breakout Rooms
‘Breakout Rooms’ is a setting that the meeting hosts can use to create smaller groups within a meeting. if we use this feature, we’ll let everyone know before splitting into the ‘breakout rooms’. The host will set this up, and all you’ll need to do is tap on ‘accept’ when an option appears on your screen to ‘enter a breakout room’.
Please feel free to have a play around with Zoom and let us know if there’s anything we can do to help you access our online events.
See you…zoom!
Click below for more information about Hot Keys and Keyboard Shortcuts for Zoom.
