Connectivity Issues
Helping students call in to Zoom
Recording in Zoom
Teaching students to use Zoom

Troubleshooting connectivity, audio and video issues

If students are having trouble accessing Zoom and you suspect it may be because of internet access issues, here’s a few things to try:

Ask students to try turning off their cameras. This will decrease the demands on their internet.
If students are still having trouble with their audio, they can call in via telephone number. As a default, each SSU Zoom meeting automatically creates a dial-in number (instructions to locate it below). Students can call in, turn off the audio on their computer, and still participate in the class (they should mute their Zoom and their computer audio to avoid audio feedback). Dial-in participants can engage in breakout rooms, but unless they have a computer screen open they won’t be able to see the chat or your shared screen.
For other specific issues (like audio/video not working), visit Zoom's troubleshooting resource page.

Helping students locate a call-in number:

Navigate to your Zoom meetings, either in Canvas or at salemstate.zoom.us.
Click on the meeting you are interested in
About halfway down the page, click “Copy Invitation” - you can send this to students.
To find the dial-in information, In the box that opens, scroll down to find the information necessary to dial in: local phone numbers, meeting ID and passcode.
Students who open this meeting invitation on a mobile phone can also use the One tap mobile feature, which will enter all of the necessary numbers for them.

Screenshot of Copy Meeting Invitation on Zoom with dial by location information

Recording in Zoom

New to recording Zoom meetings? Start with Zoom's overview re: how to record your Zoom session. Some additional considerations:

Consent: Massachusetts is a two-party consent state, which means both parties have to consent to being recorded. If you are considering recording your class, talk about it with your students, and make sure to let students know if you are planning to record. If some students feel uncomfortable or unsafe being recorded, the best option may be not to record.
Zoom does provide default captions with recordings, but many users who have students with accessibility issues have found these captions to be lacking. If you need to caption for accessibility, please reach out to Disability Services. Otherwise, please contact the ITS Help Desk for advice on captions, or email Derek Barr (dbarr@salemstate.edu) to learn how to caption using speech-to-text in Screencast-o-Matic.

Teaching Students to Use Zoom

Your students may be very familiar with Zoom by now from previous courses or personal use. That being said, you should clearly explain and model how you will be using Zoom and its features in your class. In early course meetings, you may want to give instructions on how to use chat, screenshare, and breakout rooms so all students can clearly see how to make use of these features. Share tutorials if there are important skills you want them to master (like screensharing or chat).

You may also want to teach your students to personalize their Zoom through name, image, etc. This will help them share the name they feel comfortable with, and have a visual presence that others can see if they turn their camera off!