Zoom and You: Community over IP
The ABC of Wisconsin Virtual Annual Gathering
How can I download Zoom?
Zoom can be found on a desktop computer by going to www.zoom.us. Zoom can also be found on either the Apple App Store or Google Play. To download the Zoom app from the website, click on the Resources drop down menu and select “Download Zoom Client.” The first option is the one you’ll want to download.
Once the application is downloaded and installed on the device of your choosing, you can then join any meeting.
Do I need to download Zoom?
Not necessarily – if you are joining a Zoom meeting only by phone, you do not need to download Zoom. However, the Virtual Annual Gathering will best be experienced through a computer or tablet device, making the app necessary.
How can I join a meeting?
After you’ve made your selections for Workshops and Facilitated Conversations through the ABC/WI Annual Gathering registration process, you will receive an email with unique links for each meeting session, which also happen to have 10-digit meeting IDs. To join by:
- LINK: You can click on the link directly to be taken to Zoom, where it will automatically launch the Zoom client (or download and install it if not already present) for you.
- MEETING ID: You can go to zoom.us , click on ‘Join A Meeting’ in the top right of the page, and then enter the 10-digit meeting ID.
- MOBILE: If you are using the mobile app, launch the app and then click ‘Join a Meeting’, where you will then be able to enter the meeting ID provided.
PLEASE NOTE: Each session will have a unique link and meeting ID.
What happens when I join a meeting?
Once you join a meeting, you should be greeted by a dialog that asks if you want to join the meeting with video or without video. Once you click on either option, you will join the meeting automatically.
You should then be greeted with a question asking you if you want to join the audio conference or not: If you are able, you should Join with Computer Audio: this option uses your computer’s audio, using both your microphone and your speakers to play the meeting.
WAITING ROOM: When you first connect to the Zoom room, you may be initially in a “Waiting Room” before the host admits you to the room for the session.
NOTE: If you join a meeting and it is already in progress, for courtesy, please mute your microphone. You can do this in the Zoom window by pressing the mute button in the lower left hand corner, or by pressing Control+A (if you are on Windows).
What do I do when I’m in a meeting?
When you are in a meeting fully, you should be presented with something similar to the following window:
The options along the bottom bar from left to right are as follows:
- Mute: This button controls your microphone and whether or not you are muted. To mute, click the button. To unmute, click the button again. If you are on Windows, you can use the Control+A shortcut to mute as well. PLEASE BE SURE YOU ARE MUTED unless and until you are speaking in a small group setting. See Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions below.
- Stop/Start Video: This button stops and starts your video. If you are stepping away from the webcam for a moment, you can use this to stop your webcam from videoing you and display your name on a dark screen instead. When you return, click the start video button to start the video again.
- Participants: You can use this button to open a pane on the right to view names of the people also in the meeting.
- Chat: This button allows you to text chat the participants of the meeting. You can use this to chat to the entire meeting so that everyone in the meeting sees your comments, or to a specific participant privately, separate from the main chat of the meeting.
- Share Screen: This button is for sharing material between participants and will not be useful for the Annual Gathering meeting.
- Record: You need not be concerned with this button as all Annual Gathering sessions will be recorded.
- Reactions: This button allows “emoji” feedback in the form of a “thumbs up” or “applause” emoji among others. It also is the button for “raising your hand”, as well as Yes/No voting options.
- Leave: Click this button to leave the meeting entirely.
- Gallery View/Speaker View: In the upper right hand corner of the window, you can choose Gallery View or Speaker View.
- Gallery View allows you to see everyone in the meeting at once, “Brady Bunch” style.
- Speaker View highlights the video of the person speaking in full screen automatically.
- We recommend using Speaker View for the sessions so that the presenter/speaker is in full screen.
Breakout Rooms
During the Breakout Workshops and Equipping Sessions, you may have the opportunity to gather in “small groups” within the Zoom room session. The host will create and open the Breakout Rooms, which will automatically move you into a smaller Breakout Room with just a few other participants. You will need to provide consent to be moved into the Breakout Room. This is the perfect opportunity to unmute and to share your thoughts.
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions:
- Tip #1: Having 50 or so participants in a Zoom meeting with all their mics on simultaneously creates excessive background noise. Please ensure you are muted if you are not speaking – this provides a better experience for the other members of the call and reduces background noise. In the workshops and conversations, if you are prepared to speak, please do so! Simply unmute if you are prepared to share, but ensure you are muted again once you are done. A helpful feature of Zoom is that, if your mic is muted, holding down the space bar unmutes your mic until you release the space bar. Thus, a technique to avoid the noise problem is to leave your mic muted and then, when you start to speak, hold down the space bar until you are finished.
- Tip #2: Never have two devices (computer, tablet, smart phone, etc.) with live mics and speakers in the same room connected to a Zoom meeting. This results in an echo and can result in feedback, producing a horrible screeching sound. To avoid this, move one device into another room or use headphones or earbuds on both devices so both speakers are not open in the room.
- Tip #3: Verify your internet speed is fast enough to adequately support video chat prior to the Annual Gathering. Zoom recommends 1.2mbps for speaker view and 1.5mbps for gallery view. You can check your internet speeds on www.fast.com.
- Tip #4: Verify your webcam/microphone configuration is adequate prior to Annual Gathering. Most devices have a webcam and microphone built in, including most laptops and almost all tablets and phones. Zoom is supported on most mobile devices, as well as Windows/Mac OS. For the best quality, we recommend a headset as they generally have better microphones as well as allowing you to better hear everyone.
**Note: Thanks to Kurt Kaufman and First Baptist Church of Madison for the source materials for this guide.