Zoom is an audio and video web conferencing tool that allows you to interact with your students online, in real-time. Zoom is integrated directly into your Canvas course.
To learn how to schedule and start a Zoom meeting in your Canvas course, click the tabs below.
Schedule a Zoom Meeting via Canvas
To schedule a Zoom meeting from your Canvas course:
- In the Course Navigation Menu, click Zoom.
- In the top right corner, click Schedule a New Meeting.
Now, you can adjust the settings for your Zoom meeting:
- Topic: Change the meeting's title to match its focus. For example, if you are creating meetings for weekly class sessions that will take place on Zoom, change the title to "Weekly Class Meeting."
- When: Select the date and time when your Zoom meeting will take place.
- Duration: Enter a duration for your meeting. This will let students know when to expect the meeting to end, but it will not require your meeting to automatically end based on its duration.
- Time Zone: Keep your meeting set for Pacific Time (PT). The time listed for your meeting will automatically update to reflect a student's time zone if they are in a different one.
- Select Recurring meeting if you need to create multiple occurrences of a meeting for a specific date and time (i.e., every Tuesday at 3:00 PM for a duration of 11 weeks) or if your meeting will need to be available at any time (i.e., you'll be using it for office hours meetings by appointment).
- Registration: Do not check the box to require registration for the meeting.
-
Security: To prevent unauthorized access to your meeting, the default settings in this section are as follows:
- Passcode: A passcode is basically a password that participants are required to enter to join your Zoom meeting. You can change it, but we recommend that you keep it numeric. (Note that students will not need to enter the meeting's passcode; this setting is intended for non-UCLA participants, like guest speakers for your class.)
- Waiting Room: This requires participants to wait in a virtual waiting room until a host has started the meeting and admitted them into it.
- Only authenticated users can join meetings: Do not check this box because it could prevent students from joining your meeting.
- Video: Use default settings (“Off”) for both host and participants. They can turn on their video once they have joined the meeting.
- Audio: Use the default setting: "Telephone and Computer Audio." Then if you or one of your students loses internet access, you can still join the meeting by phone.
- Meeting Options: By default, UCLA has enabled the Mute participants upon entry setting. This removes background noise that can occur when people join a meeting. To prevent Zoombombing, we recommend that you do not check two of the other options in this section: "Enable join before host" and "Use personal meeting ID."
-
Alternative Hosts: Only add an alternative host if you have a co-instructor enrolled directly in your Canvas course. You can enter their Canvas email in this field, which will allow them to co-host the meeting with you.
- Click Save at the bottom of the page when you have finished adjusting your Zoom meeting settings.
Once your meeting is scheduled, the meeting information will be automatically sent via email to your students, added to their Canvas Dashboard, and listed in the course calendar as a task to complete.
Students can access the Zoom meeting in three ways:
- From your Canvas course via the Zoom link in the Course Navigation Menu.
- From the email invitation that they receive after you have scheduled the meeting.
- From their Canvas course calendar, which is accessible via the Canva Global Navigation Menu.
Tip: Schedule Office Hours or Study Rooms
To schedule Office Hours or Study Rooms for students to access:
- In the Topic area of the meeting settings, add a descriptive title (e.g., Office Hours or Study Room).
- Check the Recurring Meeting option, then select No Fixed Time on the "Recurrence" menu. This will create a standing meeting room that can be used throughout the quarter.
- If you would like students to access the Study Room independently of you being there (i.e., to study together and work on group projects), uncheck the Waiting Room option in the "Security" section (Step 9 above).
Start a Zoom Meeting via Canvas
Follow these steps to start a scheduled Zoom meeting in your Canvas course:
- In the Course Navigation Menu, click Zoom.
- In the Upcoming Meetings tab, click Start to the right of your meeting.