How to use Zoom
Zoom is one of the world's most widely-used video conferencing services. The Zoom platform allows users to see and talk to people from anywhere in the world in real time. All you need to use Zoom is:
- a computer or mobile device with a stable internet connection
- an internet plan with sufficient data allowance
- a Zoom account.
In this course we show you, step-by-step, how to set yourself up on Zoom and start connecting with friends safely.
Transcript
Welcome to "How to use Zoom". Zoom lets you see and talk to people anywhere in the world, in real time. In this video, Rashida will create a Zoom account and download the Zoom app to connect with her son and daughter on a video call. She'll call them from her computer, but Zoom can also be used on a phone or tablet. To get started, she types the Zoom web address into her browser.
Once the website opens, she clicks on the Sign Up It's Free button. She enters some information to create her Zoom account, including her date of birth and email address. Zoom sends Rashida an email. She must verify her email address before she can continue with the sign-up process, so she clicks on the Activate Account button. Rashida is then returned to the Zoom website, where she confirms she is not signing up on behalf of a school. She then enters her name, and creates a strong password. Finally, as this is a personal Zoom account, Rashida skips the step to invite colleagues to join Zoom.
She is then prompted to download the Zoom app to her computer. Rashida downloads the file and double clicks on it to install the app. The install process might look a little different on your computer, so simply follow the onscreen instructions. Now that the Zoom app is installed and open on her computer, Rashida is ready to make her first video call. She'll make the call from her living room because she has a strong Wi-Fi connection here, which means she'll be able to hear and see her kids really well on the call. Rashida will be the Host for the meeting as she's the one organising the call and sending the meeting invitations to her kids. Rashida's kids will be the Participants of the call, which means they're the ones accepting Rashida's invitation.
With the Zoom app open, Rashida could click on Schedule to invite her kids to a video call at a later time. But as she wants to call them right now, she clicks on New Meeting. The computer's inbuilt camera automatically turns on and the screen fills with a video of herself. This is the picture her kids will see when they join the call, so she checks that she's clearly visible and that she's happy with the background in the shot. She then makes sure her kids will be able to hear her by choosing to use the computer's inbuilt microphone for the call. Now, there are just two things missing from the call: her kids.
To invite them, Rashida clicks Participants from the bottom menu. And then, Invite. She then clicks on Email, and chooses her preferred email service. A new email with some invitation details opens on her computer. This includes the meeting link that her kids will need to click on, and the security passcode they will be asked to enter to join the call. She sends the email to them both, and waits for them to join the fun. As the host of the call, Zoom lets Rashida know that her kids are waiting to join. She clicks, See Waiting Room and admits them both to the call. This is a good security feature to prevent unexpected guests from joining the call.
When they're finished catching up, Rashida will click on End to hang up. As she is the host, this will end the call for everyone. Even though they're living apart, Rashida and her family love to catch up and reconnect on Zoom.
1
What is Zoom?
4 min
2
What you need to use Zoom
5 min
3
Creating a Zoom account
8 min
4
Protecting your privacy when using Zoom
7 min
5
Customising Zoom to suit you
6 min
6
Using Zoom to connect with others
5 min