Zoom - Teleconferencing and Remote Meetings

Owned by Andrew Jessup (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Dec 12, 2022 by staceyritc (Unlicensed)
3 min read

As a student you will be joining a teleconference/remote class, and or office hours with your instructor.

Getting Started

Go to http://ucla.zoom.us/signin and log in using your BOL information (UCLA username and password).

Download and install the Zoom desktop client:  https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting.

Join via Bruin Learn 

To join a meeting, simply click “Zoom” in the left navigation menu of your Bruin Learn course site. Then locate the desired meeting and click “Join.” A new window will popup, prompting you to start the Zoom software, or to download it, if you have not already done so.  Click the “Launch Application” button to begin the session.

Best practices

  • In order to reduce background noise, mute your mic unless you are speaking (button on the bottom left of meeting screen).

  • When you do need to speak, hold the space bar down to temporarily unmute yourself. When you release it, you will be muted again. 

  • Aim your camera at eye level.

  • Find a spot with good lighting, and keep your background neutral if possible (e.g. a blank wall).

  • Dress as you would for an in-person class.

  • Beware: when sharing your screen, you may share things that you did not intend to. Close all non-course related work, including browser tabs.

Virtual Backgrounds

Zoom has the ability to provide a virtual background, which can make your meeting more interesting, provide content related to your subject, or to hide your real background. We have collected a few UCLA and Los Angeles related ones that you can use!

In-meeting Functions 

Once you launch a meeting, a new meeting window will pop up. The main meeting window displays: 1.) the current video feed of whoever is speaking or 2.) the computer screen of the active participant (if Screen Share is enabled). Options along the bottom toolbar allow you to:

  •  Mute: mute yourself or a participant’s audio feed (if you are the host)

  •  Start Video: enable/disable your video output

  • Invite: invite additional users outside of the members of your Bruin Learn site to participate in the meeting (as Host, the option to invite individuals into your Zoom meeting can be found in the Participants window)

  • Share Screen: allows you to either share your full desktop or only specific windows

    • Shared Screen Features: Once you have shared your screen, you can annotate the screen using the “Mouse”, “Draw”, “Spotlight”, and “Clear” functions

    • You can also share any iPhone/iPad using iOS mirroring

  •  Chat: allows you to text chat with either specific participants or with the entire group

  •  Share: Share any content, including video clips with audio

 

Options for chat, recording to your computer or cloud, polls, live transcript, and breakout rooms can be found under More. Please note that some of these options will not be visible to you if you are not the Host or Co-host of the meeting.

Using Zoom outside of Bruin Learn

You can also use Zoom outside of Bruin Learn. Simply go to https://ucla.zoom.us, login as usual, and start your Zoom application. A window will prompt you to start a meeting, schedule a meeting for a future date, or join a meeting already in progress. You can invite participants from within the application, either by email, by IM, or by sending them your Zoom Meeting ID number, which they can input into their own Zoom application to join on their end.