Schedule and record web-based video meetings.

A fully-licensed Zoom account is available to all faculty, staff, and students at Boise State. Zoom is a great tool for conducting remote meetings that allows you to see and hear one another, chat, share your computer screen, and more.

You Already Have Access to an Account!

If you’ve never used Zoom at Boise State, simply sign in to Zoom at boisestate.zoom.us/ with your Boise State username and password to activate your fully licensed account. You may be prompted to confirm your request and then a confirmation email will be sent.

You can only use Boise State email addresses with your Boise State Zoom account.

What You Need to Set Up and Use Zoom

Zoom requires an Internet connection and one of the following:

• A desktop computer with a webcam and microphone;
• A laptop with a built in camera and microphone or a webcam;
• An iOS or Android mobile device, including Chromebooks, with the Zoom App installed.

We recommend using a desktop or laptop computer for the best experience.

Install the Zoom Client or App

Visit boisestate.zoom.us/download to download the Zoom Client for Meetings to your desktop or laptop computer. On mobile devices, simply search your app store for Zoom and install the app.

There is also a browser-based version of Zoom, but it is more limited and we recommend the computer client or app options instead.

To join a Zoom meeting, you simply click the Zoom meeting link from an email or calendar invite.

Depending on how the meeting is set up, you can join using computer audio (recommended) or, if you’re not participating in the video, by phone only. We recommend providing both computer and phone audio options when scheduling a Zoom meeting.

We highly recommend watching this short video that shows the features of Zoom and how to navigate the interface, share and mute audio and video, screenshare, and use the chat features.

Video Meeting Etiquette and Tips

Here are a few etiquette tips from the Zoom blog and Naked Security by Sophos to consider when participating in video meetings. Here are some specific things to consider in Zoom meetings:

• Use headphones or ear buds to cut down on audio feedback.
• Mute your audio except to speak.
• Look into the camera when talking.

Here are several things you can do to keep your meetings secure:

• We recommend signing in to boisestate.zoom.us  first thing in the morning when you start work.
• Only share meeting URLs with the intended participants.
• Do not post or otherwise share Zoom meeting links on public websites or social media platforms.
• Hosts should sign in to meetings a few minutes early to admit participants from the waiting room.
• Participants should sign in to Zoom before joining meetings in order to bypass the waiting room.
• Enter meetings from calendar invites, Boise State’s Zoom portal, or from the Zoom integration in Blackboard.
• If you want to add a password to an existing recurring meeting, simply delete the existing meeting, create a new meeting and share the new link.
• Hosts can use the Lock Meeting feature in the “Manage Participants” area after a meeting has started to simulate closing the door.

Please see our article, “Secure Your Zoom Meeting,” for specific details about how to keep your meetings secure.

Watch this video from Zoom Support on “Securing Your Meetings and Virtual Classrooms” for specifics on how to keep your Zoom experience secure.

To start or schedule a Zoom meeting, visit boisestate.zoom.us, sign in, and select Schedule a Meeting.

Generally, we recommend using the default options when scheduling meetings. Here are some particular tips for scheduling non-academic Zoom meetings:

• Title: Enter a meaningful meeting title like you would on a calendar invite.
• Time Zone: Be sure to set the time zone appropriate to the meeting participants. For Boise, that’s “(GMT-6:00) Mountain Time (US and Canada).”
  • • • • If your Time Zone default is incorrect, fix it in your Profile settings.
• Recurring Meeting: You can use this feature, but it may be problematic if you need to edit the meeting or are unavailable to Host one day. You can find additional information about recurring meetings in our knowledge base.
• Video: We recommend using video for the host and participants for the most engaging conversations, though some participants may need video off due to bandwidth concerns.
• Audio: We highly recommend selecting “Both” computer audio and telephone.
• Alternative hosts: Add other people as appropriate to start the meeting and be Host until you join.

To start a Zoom meeting, visit boisestate.zoom.us/signin and select whether to start a meeting with audio only or with video and full features of Zoom.

• Host Meeting With Video On
• Host Meeting with Video Off

When you click either link, the Zoom client will open. You may need to click “OK” “Allow” or “Open Zoom.us” for Zoom to open. Next, invite people to the meeting:

1. Click the “Participants” button on the black bar at the bottom of the Zoom interface.
2. Click “Invite.”
3. From here, choose “Copy Invitation” to copy and paste the meeting link and information into an email or calendar invite.

Zoom is a cloud-based solution, and its use continues to increase. If you are experiencing issues using Zoom with Boise State’s VPN you should first review the software’s system requirements to verify your system meets the minimum to use Zoom effectively.

You can also try out a Zoom test meeting to verify your internet connection, audio, and video.

Zoom is Boise State’s web conferencing tool to support meetings and education at a distance.

Visit Boise State’s Zoom knowledge base for how to articles.

To access Zoom and automatically create your account, visit boisestate.zoom.us

Use Cases for Zoom

Though the web conferencing experience of Zoom itself is consistent, there are several ways faculty may want to utilize the tool. Here are the top scenarios for faculty at Boise State:

Using the Zoom + Blackboard Integration for office hours, synchronous class sessions, and more

Using Zoom for Student Initiated Sessions for group projects, study groups, and more

In addition, feel free to peruse Zoom’s knowledge base for more specific information on its functionality.