Become a Zoom Pro: 7 Features You May Not Know

1) Touch up my appearance

After the recent shift to working and studying from home, it’s fair to say that many of us haven’t been putting as much effort into dressing up as we used to. Luckily, for those who might be a little worried about their appearance, especially for those morning meetings, Zoom has a feature called Touch up my appearance. Touch up my appearance is an instant video filter that provides a natural look by smoothing fine lines and eye bags, allowing you to look your best even if you didn't get a great night's sleep.

To enable this feature, go to Settings and click on the Video tab. From here find the option labeled Touch up my appearance and check the box next to it.

2) Mute and unmute using the spacebar

One of the most overlooked features of Zoom is the ability to mute and unmute yourself by pressing the space bar. This is a very handy feature to know and can be a real time-saver, saving you from having to navigate to the mute button every time you want to mute or unmute yourself.

3) React with an emoji

Have you ever been muted but still want a way to express your opinion to the speaker? Zoom’s built-in emoji reactions can be a great solution allowing you to share your thoughts on the topic while muted.

To react during a meeting, click on the Reaction button at the bottom of the screen and select the emoji you want to use. The emoji will be visible for all participants for 5 seconds before disappearing.

4) Keyboard shortcuts

Want a faster way to navigate through Zoom? Learning some of Zoom’s handy keyboard shortcuts can be a big time-saver, especially for those who use Zoom on a regular basis. From taking a screenshot to switching between speaker and galley view, Zoom has a shortcut for almost any situation.

Here are some of the most useful shortcuts:

• Start/Stop Video (Alt - V)
• Mute/Unmute My Audio (Alt - A)
• End Meeting (Alt - Q)

For a full list of shortcuts go to Settings and click on the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.

5) Record transcripts

The recording transcripts feature within Zoom will automatically transcribe the audio from your meeting. This can be great for those who forgot to take notes during a meeting and also allows you to search for keywords and access the video feed for that moment.

6) Hide non-video participants

While in some meetings, especially larger ones, it can be easy for your screen to become cluttered with participants. This can make it difficult to focus on the important participants in the meeting such as the presenters or speakers. A quick and easy way to declutter your screen is to turn off non-video participants. This will tell Zoom to only show you the participants who have their video turned on, although you will still be able to hear participants who do not have their video turned on.

To enable this feature, go to Settings and click on the Video tab. From here find the option labeled Hide non-video participants and check the box next to it.

7) Change your background

Tired of having the same old background during your Zoom calls? Would you rather be taking your meetings on the beach or on top of a mountain? Although we can not teleport you to your favorite destination a virtual background is the next best thing and allows you to upload an image of your choice to be displayed as your background during Zoom calls.

To enable this feature, go to Settings and click on the Virtual Background tab. From here you can either select one of Zoom's default backgrounds or upload your own.

Note: Your computer must meet Zoom's system requirements to be able to use this feature. You can view these requirements on Zoom's website here.

What's next?

Want to test your new skills and start an ESU virtual event? Get started here.

Taylor Nelson
Student Media Producer
Web and Digital Strategies

What’s the Difference Between Kaltura, Panopto and Zoom?

Emporia State has licensed three video products from many years, starting with Panopto in 2008, followed by Kaltura in 2014 and Zoom in 2016. Each product is intended for very particular verticals but are now beginning to expand their portfolio to include features that overlap with one another. Video is extraordinarily popular at ESU. In any given month several terabytes of video are captured and replayed. Canvas is not well suited to support that much video content, so we direct users to one of these other solutions.

Panopto (Ancient Greek for All Seeing) was originally developed at Carnegie Mellon University as a lecture-capture product used in medical schools. It is the workhorse for recording and uploading didactic presentations that are replayed later for review and study – mostly PowerPoint and web sites with a video insert. Panopto is unique in that it is one of the few products in its class that supports two cameras. ESU first adopted Panopto to be used in the Earl Center for recording counseling sessions. Later, it was rolled out across campus into every Learning Space and every office. Faculty can even record at home. Like all our products, Panopto is mobile friendly and provides automatic closed captioning. Panopto can also be used for live broadcasting events. It is not a product that is intended for synchronous web-conferencing.

Kaltura is the granddaddy of video hosting and streaming. It is used by many major corporations and universities, including the University of Washington, KU, and Indiana University. Think of Kaltura as a YouTube for the university but used primarily used for academics. ESU adopted Kaltura because Panopto did not afford video upload from non-Panopto sources at the time we conducted a review. (That since has changed.) Kaltura’s vertical is serving video content through Canvas and through a public facing portal called Kaltura Media Space. It also includes a desktop capture utility called Kaltura Capture that offers native screen recording. Kaltura also supports some of our best accessibility features using an add-in called Reach that not only captions, but also provides an automatic transcript of the video dialog that can be downloaded and printed. Kaltura is attempting to broaden its portfolio into lecture capture and web-conferencing. Kaltura Mobile allows faculty to capture and upload video from  their smartphones directly onto Canvas.

Zoom is the latest entrant to our portfolio. Zoom replaced Adobe Connect a few years ago when we saw Flash being deprecated by the browser vendors. This product’s primary vertical is web-conferencing, although it is commonly used for all manner of lecture capture given its ease of use. Our license for Zoom is underwritten by KanREN – our campus Internet provider. Zoom recordings are stored on Zoom Cloud for 60 days, and simultaneously stored on Kaltura using a product integration. Zoom is perhaps one of our more popular products given its ‘frictionless’ product interface. In a typical month we will see upward of 600 Zoom meetings. Zoom can even be used for desktop capture recordings. It is perhaps the most versatile of the products we license, but the storage limitations provide challenges.

Rob Gibson
Director

Learning Technologies

Checking for Updates in Zoom

We’ve come to rely on Zoom as our primary means of communication as we learn, work and teach from home.  It’s important, however, to make sure your Zoom software is updated.  As Zoom has become immensely popular, it has also been targeted for vulnerabilities and exploits.  Zoom is continually updating and patching their software, but it is up to YOU to install those patches.  Here's how.

Zoom will typically alert you when a new update is available.  It will appear across the top of the Zoom application.

If you don't see it, you can always check for updates manually.  To do so, open Zoom.  Click your initials or avatar graphic in the upper right corner.  Choose “Check for Updates.”

If there are any updates, you’ll be shown an “Update Available” screen.  Click the “Update” button.

After a few seconds, you’ll now have the option to click the “Install” button.  Click it and Zoom will close to complete the update.

Follow any on-screen prompts for your operating system to install the update.  Zoom should then restart automatically, and you’re all set to go.

The Takeaway:  Update Zoom on your computer.  Check for updates at least once a week and install any that are available.

Fun with Zoom Backgrounds!

Host your Zoom meeting from Gotham City!

If you've participated in Zoom video conferencing sessions, you've almost certainly seen that some of your fellow attendees are showcasing their creativity with unique backgrounds.

If your computer or device supports a custom background, our Learning Tech team has created instructions on how you can change your own.

Generally, a Zoom background needs to be 16:9 or 1920 pixels x 1080 pixels in size.  Your room should also have adequate lighting.

You can use your own photo or graphic or check out some of our favorites from around the web.

From Gotham City to Metropolis, here are a few provided by DC Comics.

Not to be outdone by Batman and the Super Friends, Marvel Comics has provided their own backgrounds showcasing the favorite MCU locales of the Avengers.

If space is your thing, boldly go with these Star Trek backgrounds or find all kinds of free or public domain photos on Pexels or Unsplash.

And finally, you can show your ESU Pride by downloading these campus photos or grab your own copy of the exclusive IT Only Takes a Minute custom background.

Brian Osbourn
Director, Web and Digital Strategies

Microsoft Teams vs. Zoom - Which Should You Use?

As we move our classes online, you may wonder, "What is the difference between Teams and Zoom?"

ESU offers a plethora of resources for conferencing and communications, and today we'll be comparing two: Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Both software are great when it comes to online collaboration, but they both have their strengths and weaknesses.

Both Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer individual and group communication through messaging and video conferencing. This can come in handy when working on group projects, online instruction, presentations, or traditional face-to-face meetings.  So the question is, when does one work better than the other?

Microsoft Teams:

• Quick Messaging
• File Sharing
• Push-Notification Instant Messaging
• Text-Based Group chats

Zoom:

• Massive Video-Calling
• Online Classroom
• Phone Dial-In Service
• Screen Casting
• Screen Recording

Both services offer a mobile app as well, which works best with iPhones.

Looking to download Zoom? Click here.

Looking to download Microsoft Teams? Click here.

For more information, watch episode 12 of IT Only Takes a Minute where we discuss these further in depth.

Questions? Contact the IT Help Desk and we'll be happy to help you out!

Call: 877-341-5555

Email: helpdesk@emporia.edu

Tyler Parker
Social Media & Marketing Student Assistant

Web & Digital Strategies

Tips For Online Collaboration

Are you all ready for all of your classes to be transitioned to an online setting? Hopefully your years of exposure to technology has you feeling confident, but if not, no need to worry! The Information Technology department at ESU has been putting together resources to simplify this situation as much as possible. Follow this link to the 'Learn Anywhere' site to view all of the resources that we have gathered for you.

While the 'Learn Anywhere' site has a lot of information, I personally wanted to give you some opinions on how to best collaborate with fellow students on group assignments or projects. Two of my favorite options are...

• Google Meet
• This is one of the most popular video communication tools used in the world. It integrates with your Student G Suite account, making it easy to search and invite classmates to your call. It also allows users to dial-in to the call with their personal phone! This makes it one of the most accessible platforms to use for collaboration.
• Zoom
• A world-wide favorite, Zoom is used for video conferencing and meetings. During this situation, Zoom has allowed all users to have unlimited time usage for their calls. This means that you are no longer limited by the 40 minute 'lite version'. This ensures that you and your classmates can collaborate for as long as it takes to finish the assignment!

Most importantly... Communicate!

Communicate with your classmates and figure out what works best for you all! This is an excellent opportunity to learn different methods of collaborating virtually. Make the best of the situation!

If you still having any questions or concerns, please visit the ESU Coronavirus Information page.

Sam Derksen
Web Developer
Web and Digital Strategies