Video Conferencing Services (Zoom) | UniSC | University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

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Video Conferencing Services (Zoom)

USC's video conferencing services allow people from different locations to communicate and collaborate. Whether you are at one of USC's many campuses or from an external organisation, when traveling or at home, video conference technology allows you to communicate, collaborate and share.

Video conferencing rooms on each campus enable multi-campus teaching and interactive meeting experiences, with internal and external participants. Staff and students also have their own virtual video meeting room to meet with other students, colleagues in other institutions and other external individuals and organisations.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Zoom is USC’s video conferencing platform and collaboration tool. IT Services recommends Zoom when conducting meetings or collaborating due to its user-friendly interface and versatile tools. Zoom is also compatible with a wide range of devices, making setting up and conducting a video conference easy for organisers and invitees.

Woman video conferencing a meeting on her laptop
Getting Started with Zoom

Zoom is a collaboration tool that is ideal for online classes, meetings, special events, webinars and job interviews. This service is free to use for USC staff and students.

Download

Before you can connect to a Zoom meeting you will need to download the Zoom software.

  1. Visit https://zoom.us/support/download to download the Zoom software for your device.
  2. Follow the download and installation prompts. You will not need administrator access.
Sign in

To make the most out of your Zoom experience you will need to sign into Zoom using your USC email address and password.

  1. Open Zoom
  2. Select Sign In
  3. Select Sign in with SSO
  4. Enter USC-AU as the company domain
  5. Your default web browser will open and prompt you to enter your email address and password. After logging in, the Zoom window should login automatically
Test

Once you've got everything sorted you'll want to test your audio and video​ devices, you can even connect to a test Zoom meeting to familiarise yourself with Zoom.​

Join a Zoom meeting
Via Zoom app
  1. Open the Zoom app on your computer or mobile device.
  2. Sign in to Zoom then click Join.
  3. Enter the meeting ID provided by the host/organiser.
Via meeting invitation

When you receive an email invitation to join a USC video conference you are being asked to join a Zoom meeting.

  1. You can click on the URL link that is in the description section of the calendar invitation or calendar reminder.
  2. You can copy the URL link and paste it into your browser's address bar.
Via web browser
  1. Open your web browser on your laptop or smart phone
  2. Navigate to zoom.us/join
  3. Enter your meeting ID provided by the host/organiser (e.g. 123456789).
  4. Click on Join.
Via telephone
  1. On your phone, dial the teleconferencing number provided in your invite.
  2. Enter the meeting ID number when prompted using your dialpad followed by the # key
  3. Enter your unique participant ID provided in your meeting invitation, followed by the # key. If you're not sure of your participant ID just press #.
Via traditional video conferencing systems
  1. In your video conferencing system/application’s dial screen menu enter the SIP address provided in the meeting invitation (e.g. 123456789@zoom.aarnet.edu.au)
  2. If you're not sure of the SIP address you can try dialing the IP address 182.255.102.250 and enter the Zoom meeting ID via the touch pad when prompted.
  3. If prompted, enter the PIN Code.
  4. Contact the technical assistance service in your organisation for troubleshooting assistance for the video conferencing system/video conferencing room you will be using for the video/audio conference.

For more detailed information and other ways to join Zoom meetings, visit the Zoom website.

Schedule a Zoom meeting

Learn how to schedule a meeting to invite your participants ahead of time.

From the Zoom app
  1. Open Zoom and sign in
  2. Select the Schedule button. This will open the scheduler window.
  3. Complete the details of your meeting
  4. Select Schedule to finish and open the selected calendar service to add the meeting.
From the Zoom website
  1. Sign in to the Zoom website with your USC email address and password
  2. Select Meetings
  3. Select Schedule A Meeting
  4. Complete the details of your meeting
  5. Select Save to finish
  6. Once finished, you can either select a calendar option to add the scheduled meeting to your calendar or select Copy The Invitation to send out the invitation to your Zoom meeting.​

For more detailed information and other ways to schedule Zoom meetings, visit the Zoom website.

Tips

Read through these good practice tips for ideas on how to optimise your Zoom experience.

Meeting preparation
  • If you haven't joined a Zoom meeting before allow yourself between 5-10 minutes to connect.
  • Make sure the physical space you are in has adequate lighting, a well lit office space should be sufficient.
  • Spend some time testing your video and audio settings and resolve any issues before the meeting start time.
  • Use a good quality headset with an integrated microphone to eliminate potential audio issues or feedback (that screeching sound) in the meeting.
  • Minimise potential distractions such as glare, uneven lighting, background noises and potential interruptions.
  • If you are going to share content during the meeting, make sure your presentation/materials are ready. Test the Share function before the meeting starts.
  • Have the video meeting organiser's contact details close at hand, in case you need to contact him/her to let them know you are having trouble connecting to the call or that you are having technical issues.
Communicate effectively
  • Do an audio check as soon as you connect to the meeting and ensure that the other participants can hear you.
  • Speak in a normal voice directly into your microphone - you shouldn't have to shout. Avoid turning your head from side to side while talking, as your voice may fade in/out.
  • If wearing a headset, avoid having mouthpiece too close to your mouth, as this will send heavy breathing sounds to the other attendees.
  • When starting to talk avoid asking "Can you hear me?" Assume everything is working fine - someone will let you know if something is wrong.
  • Be natural on camera, but limit excess movement. If you walk around while speaking, remain in a small area and walk slowly.
  • Remember, if you have your video enabled the other attendees will see everything you do during the call, and everything that happens around you will be seen in the meeting.
Etiquette
  • When not speaking, mute your microphone via the mute button in Zoom. This keeps background noises to a minimum; a 'must' during Zoom meetings.
  • Video conferencing sometimes involves a slight delay in signals being sent and received. If you interrupt a speaker to add something, or ask a question, they may not hear you instantly, resulting in a disjointed break in the meeting.
  • In a larger meeting, the best idea when needing to interrupt a speaker is to:
    • Use the "Raise your hand" feature
    • Use the chat channel to indicate you'd like to speak.
    • Use the Q&A function, to get the presenters attention
  • Direct your questions to a specific site, and preferably a specific person. Expect a few extra seconds of delay in getting an answer, because of the technology and distance involved (at minimum, give the other person time to unmute their microphone).
  • Avoid "side conversations" when your microphone is on, and try not to rustle papers or make tapping sounds near the microphone. These can be heard by the other attendees, and will be distracting.
  • When video conferencing with multiple sites, start by saying your name and location (for example, "This is Eddie at USC"). This helps other sites identify who is speaking before the video catches up to show the person currently talking.
Zoom interface explained
  1. Zoom interface in conference call

    Mute/Unmute microphone button. Use it to Mute/Unmute your microphone while in a call/meeting. The ^ button next to this one lets you access additional audio settings
  2. Stop Video button. Click this to stop sending images from your webcam in the call/meeting. The ^ button next to this one lets you access additional video settings
  3. Invite people to your call or meeting using this button
  4. Use the Manage Participants button (as the meeting host) to mute/unmute and manage your attendees
  5. Select the Share screen button to share your desktop or a specific application with attendees.
  6. Select the Chat button to view the chat panel and contribute to the chat.
  7. Click the Record button to record your meeting (either locally to your PC or to cloud storage). The ^ button next to this one lets you access additional recording options
  8. Click the Breakout Rooms button to create multiple, separate video conference sub-meetings, that you can manage as the host of the over all meeting.
  9. Click on the End Meeting button to end the meeting for all participants.

For more information on using Zoom and technical support documentation visit the Zoom Help Centre.

Troubleshooting

Here are some of the most common issues you and others on your Zoom meeting will encounter below, and ways to address them.

Other participants cannot hear me
  1. Unmute your microphone
  2. Check your headset is plugged in and does not have the inline mute feature enabled
  3. If there are multiple microphones connected to your computer, ensure you have the correct microphone selected
  4. Check the audio settings in Zoom and adjust the volume level of the microphone that you are using.
  5. If you can't unmute yourself, the video host may have muted your audio
  6. Make sure the other participants have not muted their speakers (send a chat message or contact the host/organiser) 
  7. Disconnect from the video/audio conference call and reconnect
  8. Restart your computer/mobile device/video conferencing equipment
  9. Ask the meeting host to contact their video conferencing support team for assistance or contact your local technical support service
I cannot hear the other participants
  1. Unmute your speakers
  2. Check your speakers are plugged in correctly
  3. If there are multiple speakers connected to your computer, ensure you have the correct speaker selected
  4. Check the audio settings in Zoom and adjust the volume level of the speakers that you are using.
  5. Make sure the other participants/locations have not muted their microphones (send a chat message or contact the host/organiser)
  6. Try playing an audio file from a different source to check your speakers are working
  7. Disconnect from the video/audio conference call and reconnect
  8. Restart your computer/mobile device/video conferencing equipment
  9. Ask the meeting host to contact their video conferencing support team for assistance or contact your local technical support service.
Other participants cannot see me
  1. Adjust your camera so your image is in the frame on the preview screen
  2. Check the camera controls and video settings for each device that has camera adjustments.
  3. If additional video devices are connected (e.g. webcam) check the video settings in Zoom and ensure you have the correct camera selected
  4. Make sure the other participants don't have network or video conference system issues preventing them from receiving a video feed (send a chat message or contact the host/organiser)
  5. Disconnect from the video/audio conference call and reconnect
  6. Restart your computer/mobile device/video conferencing equipment.
  7. Ask the meeting host to contact their video conferencing support team for assistance or contact your local technical support service.
I cannot see the other participants
  1. Ensure you are actively connected to the meeting and can hear the other participants
  2. Ensure you have the video conference software’s window maximised on your display. If you have multiple monitors/displays connected, ensure that the video conference software’s window is not open on another screen, or hidden behind another currently running programs window.
  3. Ensure the video conference software is still running (check the taskbar to see if the program’s icon is still there)
  4. If your display is completely blank - turn off and back on the display equipment you’re using (e.g. computer monitor, projector, mobile device, video conferencing room control panel/AV equipment).
  5. Are other participants/locations having internet or video conferencing issues preventing them from sending a video feed? (Send a chat message or contact the host/organiser)
  6. Disconnect from the video/audio conference call and reconnect
  7. Restart your computer/mobile device/video conferencing equipment
  8. Ask the meeting host (endpoint location) to contact their video conferencing support team for assistance or contact your local technical support service.
Help

If you need more information or assistance please contact IT Services or visit Zoom’s Help Center.

Staff resources

Resources on video conferencing for USC staff are available on MyUSC