How do I get started with Zoom?

Follow this article to learn about the basic features of the Zoom client on Windows and Mac.

This is an excerpt of the Zoom article, found here.

Prerequisites

In Zoom, this article covers:

Sign in and Join

After launching Zoom, click Join a Meeting to join a meeting without signing in. If you want to log in and start or schedule your own meeting, click Sign In.

To sign in, use your Zoom, Google, or Facebook account. You can also log in using SSO. If you don’t have an account, click Sign Up Free. If you have a Zoom account but cannot remember your password, click Forgot.

Home

After signing in, you will see the Home tab, where you can click these options:

  • New Meeting: Start an instant meeting. Click the downwards arrow to enable video or use your personal meeting ID (PMI) for instant meetings. (This is not required for the ADAPT course)
  • JoinJoin a meeting that is in progress.
  • ScheduleSet up a a future meeting.
    • This could be helpful in scheduling your Peer Partner Practice sessions or sessions with practice clients, later in the course.
  • Share ScreenShare your screen in a Zoom Room by entering in the sharing key or meeting ID. (This is not required for the ADAPT course)
  • Date and time with background image: To change the background image, hover over the picture and click the camera icon.
  • Upcoming meeting: Displays the next meeting for the current day. Add a third-party calendar service if you want to sync upcoming meetings. (This is not required for the ADAPT course)
  • Click your profile picture for these options:

     

    • Add a personal note.
    • Settings: Access settings you can change in the client.
    • Change your status to AvailableAway, or Do Not Disturb.
    • My Profile: Open the Zoom web portal to edit your profile.
    • Help: Open the Zoom Help Center.
    • Check for Updates: Check if Zoom is up to date.
    • About Zoom: View the current version.
    • Switch to Portrait View: Switch the Zoom window to portrait view if you prefer a narrower window.
    • Sign out
    • Upgrade to Pro (if you are on a free account)

In-Meeting Controls

Mentor Coach and Teaching Assistant sessions are held in Zoom meetings. Once you have started or joined a meeting, you can access the meeting controls located at the bottom of the meeting window (move your mouse in the Zoom window to display meeting controls).

The attendee controls appear at the bottom of your screen if you’re not currently screen sharing.

Attendees have access to these features:

Mute / Unmute: Mute and unmute your microphone.
Audio Controls (click the ^ arrow next to Mute Unmute): Allows you to change the microphone and speaker that Zoom is currently using on your computer, leave computer audio, and access the full audio settings.

Tip: Use the following keyboard shortcuts to mute or unmute yourself. You can also use push to talk if you want to unmute yourself by holding the spacebar.

  • Windows: Alt + A
  • Mac: Shift + Command + A

Start Video Stop Video: Turns your camera on or off.
Video Controls (click the ^ arrow next to Start Video Stop Video): Change cameras if you have multiple cameras, select a virtual background (if enabled), or access your full video settings.

Participants: See who’s currently in the meeting. The Participants list also gives you access to these options:

  • Rename: Hover over your name and click Rename to change your screen name displayed to other participants. This is how you make sure your first and last name are displayed and, in this way, you get credit for attending your live session.

Chat: Access the chat window to chat with the participants. Learn more.

Leave Meeting: Leave the meeting while it continues for the other participants. Only the host can end the meeting.

More Resources from Zoom