The year 2020 would be marked in history forever as not only the beginning of a new decade but the year in which the Corona Virus(Covid-19) swept through most countries of the world leading to lockdowns lasting months. With these lockdowns came the need to work from home and the zoom app fast became a veritable medium for conducting interviews, meetings and conferences virtually. The knowledge of this app is now an essential work skill as it has become pertinent that everyone is savvy with the app. A step-by-step guide for first time zoom users is explained as follows:

How to Join a Zoom Meeting:

An invitation to join a zoom meeting is commonly sent via whatsApp or email. Once an invitation is received, it is required of the recipient to click on the link. The clicking of the link would either prompt the recipient to download the zoom app or launch the app. The zoom app can be downloaded for first time users through their phones on Google play store for Android users, the App store (iOS) or Microsoft store for windows users. Once the app is launched on a laptop, the guest is expected to click open zoom meeting. After this has been clicked, a window appears notifying the guest to wait for the host to sign-in that is if the host has not signed in or if the host has signed in, the host grants the recipient access. On a mobile device, the link takes the guest directly to the meeting or to wait for the host to sign in. However, if the meeting is one’s first time on zoom with a phone, access would have to be given to allow the phone’s microphone access zoom. If the meeting involves other people a tab appears on the guest’s screen which advises the guest to call using internet audio to hear others.

A meeting can also be joined directly from the zoom app by going to the join tab on a phone and checking out the list of upcoming meetings from the drop down menu. The zoom meeting of choice can thus be selected and joined.

JOINING AND CONFIGURING AUDIO AND VIDEO:

When starting out on zoom with a laptop, a pop-up would appear asking if you would like to join a meeting with video or without video. There is also an option to test speaker and follow the instructions thereafter. The guest has a choice to click on an option based on preference. The join audio icon is on the bottom left of the screen and this can be clicked to join with audio. However, if other participants cannot hear while the meeting is ongoing or vice versa, it is advised to click the arrow key to the right of the mute and unmute button. This would give an option to test the speaker while the meeting is already going on. A ringtone would be sounded and once a user hears this ringtone, this is indicative that the speaker is in good condition.

How to Schedule a Webinar in Zoom

To schedule a webinar, navigate towards webinars/schedule on the zoom app depending on whether a phone or laptop is being used and click on schedule meeting/webinar. A form appears with different fields such as time of meeting, date, and if the meeting would be recurring. There are options for video on for participants, audio on, automatic recording, option to enable Q and A etc. A passcode is generated and can be sent to other participants or a new one created. After checking options based on the host’s preference, the form allows sending to participants email addresses directly.

How to Screenshare in Zoom

One’s screen can easily be shared by selecting the share screen icon at the bottom of a zoom meeting window. Clicking this icon gives the options of sharing your desktop or individual applications opened on your computer. The advanced sharing options can also be accessed which allows the option to share individual files in the computer. If content from a third party video is to be shared, it is paramount that the share sound box at the bottom left of the screen is clicked to enable other participants hear the audio. The shared content can be stopped at any time by clicking stop share.

HOW TO RECORD A ZOOM MEETING

Recording a zoom meeting is really easy. It involves just clicking the record button at the bottom of the zoom window and it offers 2 options. The first is to record and save locally in an mp4 format in the computer while the second option is to record in the zoom cloud from where it can be accessed and shared to others. Once recording begins, it can be stopped and paused at any time during the meeting.

SCHEDULING A ZOOM MEETING IN OUTLOOK

The first step is to download the zoom plug-in from the zoom download center. Then open outlook calendar and select a date for a meeting and then select the zoom plug-in. Selecting the zoom plug in provides option for customization like generating an identification, customizing the audio and video options etc. The participants can easily be added from the outlook calendar.

The above are some general steps in using the zoom app. This app is in itself user friendly and the more one uses it, the more one gets accustomed to it and becomes more savvy with the functions.