zoom – iSchool Help Desk

What’s the Deal with SSO?

SSO (Single Sign-On) is a feature in Zoom that allows you to sign in with the credentials of your company or organization. This feature allows for additional security measures in place to help prevent unauthorized users from joining. For our purposes, this means you’ll need to use SSO for most Zoom calls hosted through the University.

Using SSO is really easy, but it can be confusing if the user doesn’t know how to sign in via SSO. First off, navigate to the sign-in page of Zoom.

Click on the little key icon above “SSO” at the bottom-left, and it should redirect you here:

For the company domain, you’ll simply enter “Illinois” and hit continue! This is the part that seems to trip people up. But after this, you should find this next part pretty familiar:

So, just log in with your University credentials and you’re golden!

Aaaand that’s all she wrote! It’s a little confusing, and the extra steps can be frustrating, but the security measures are very necessary (we at the Help Desk definitely have a story about what can happen if they’re not in place). So hopefully this guide helped, and until next week!

Tech Tip: Media Space for Canvas Recordings

For professors at the iSchool, it’s common knowledge that they can record their lectures on Zoom for their students to look over later. There’s hardly a single class we as the Help Desk check in on that doesn’t have some notification warning us that we’re being recorded. Eerie, really…

But what is less well-known is how to use Media Space in order to edit Zoom recordings and embed them into Canvas posts.

We already have a few KnowledgeBase articles about Recording Zoom for MediaSpace and Posting Class Recordings from Media Space on Canvas, but the basics to know is this:

Everyone’s already got a Media Space account. When you record a Zoom Lecture made through your Illinois account to the Cloud, a copy is made on your Media Space that will eventually be deleted after 30 days unless you either set up a private Media Space channel or embed it into Canvas.

Embedding into Canvas is incredibly easy, turns out! When creating posts on Canvas, there is a special icon specifically for Media Space content to be added! It looks like this:

Once you click on this, you can then select the video you want from the list that appears.

That’s about the gist of it! If you’d like more specific directions and help, those KnowledgeBase articles above should furnish you with the necessary information on how to easily edit your uploads through Media Space.

Till next week!

Tech Tip: Zoom Timer

Zoom just updated, and the new update included a new feature: Zoom Timer! You can now set up a timer or stopwatch and use it during a Zoom meeting. Learn more about how to turn on and use the new timer feature in the linked Knowledge Base article.

Tech Tips: Checking for Zoom Updates

Tech Tip: Zoom Updates. Did Zoom’s latest update catch you by surprise? Learn how to check for Zoom updates with our new Tech Tip! Image of a frustrated frog waiting for an update bar to fill.

Zoom’s latest update caught many people by surprise when it began right as they were trying to join a class or meeting. Zoom does not send reminders about new updates, so it’s good to get in the practice of checking for updates so you aren’t caught unawares. Let’s go over how to check Zoom for updates.

Checking for Updates

To check Zoom for updates, open the application on your computer. Once Zoom is open, click on your profile picture in the top right corner.

Scroll down the pop-up menu that appears underneath your profile picture. Find and select the option “Check for Updates”.

If Zoom has an update available, it will prompt you to begin the update process. If it does not have an update available, you will receive a pop-up saying “You are up to date”.

And that’s it! The Help Desk recommends checking Zoom for new updates right at the beginning of each semester so you will be ready for meetings, online courses, and other online events.

Tech Tip: Zoom Notes

ALT TEXT: Collaborating over Zoom? Taking and sharing notes? Use Zoom Notes! Learn more: go.illinois.edu/ZoomNotes. Grey dotted background with outlines of blue circles. Image of document with comment bubbles.

When you’re meeting over Zoom, there’s a variety of reasons you may need to use and share notes: collaborating with other students during an online class, working on a shared document for a group activity, taking notes and creating agendas during online meetings, and more. Now, Zoom has released a brand new feature allowing you to take notes before, during, and after meetings, as well as share and collaborate on them with other participants.

Learn more about Zoom Notes and how to use it using the Help Desk’s new Knowledge Base article.

Tech Tip: Hybrid Meetings

Holding a hybrid meeting? Use the iSchool buildings' built-in computers! Image of a woman on a computer screen.

Whether you’re teaching a class or reserving a conference room for a meeting, if you’re holding a hybrid event you want it to go smoothly. Hybrid meetings are meetings with both in-person attendees as well as attendees joining over Zoom. If attendees are joining over Zoom and you would like them to speak or hear in-person attendees, you should use the room’s built-in computers.

Built-ins are computers included in iSchool conference rooms and classrooms. Some built-ins look like physical computers that can connect to projectors. Others might not be visible, but are accessible by using control panels in the room. Both kinds of built-in are designed to connect to the cameras and microphones in conference rooms and classrooms, while laptops are not. So while using your laptop to join a meeting might seem like the easier option, it can lead to audio and visual issues in the middle of a hybrid meeting.

To learn more about how to use the built-ins for specific rooms, take a look at the linked KnowledgeBase article. You can also contact the Help Desk with any questions or concerns by emailing ischool-support@illinois.edu or calling us at 217-244-4903. We can help you troubleshoot any issues using the built-ins, and can also help you set up hybrid events. Fill out the iSchool Tech Support Request Form to have Help Desk staff stop by before your event to help set up tech.

Tech Tip of the Week: Sharing a Portion of Screen in Zoom

Did you know you can share just a portion of your screen during a Zoom meeting rather than your whole desktop screen? It’s relatively easy to do so!

To share a portion of your screen, click the green share screen button at the bottom of the Zoom window. When the share screen settings window pops up, select the “Advanced” tab at the top.

On the Advanced menu, select the “Portion of Screen” option and then press “Share.”

A green window will then appear on your screen. You can adjust the size of this green window to fit the area of the screen you want to share.

Tech Tip of the Week: Sharing Class Recordings on Canvas

Our Canvas Tech Tip for this week is about how to share class recordings on Canvas! You can view our sharing class recordings video walk-through here.

Please reach out with any questions you may have!

Tech Tip of the Week: Broadcasting a Message to Waiting Room in Zoom

If you have decided to enable waiting rooms in your Zoom meetings, we want to share with you a quick Tech Tip this week!

You are able to send a message to everyone in the waiting room.

You can do this by opening the chat and going to select a recipient the same way you would to send a private message, but while the waiting room is enabled and there are participants waiting you should see the option to select everyone (in waiting room) as the recipient. Sending a message will then broadcast that message to everyone currently in the waiting room.

You can find screenshots and more information in Zoom’s documentation on waiting rooms.

Checking for Updates

Sharing a PowerPoint

You can find a video demonstrating these steps here.