University of Colombo provides a cloud-based video and audio conferencing facility (Zoom) for the university staff with collaborating Lanka Education & Research Network(LEARN). This service is accessible on Mac OS, Windows, and mobile devices by installing the relevant device’s application. Your University of Colombo Zoom account is associated with your SSO profile. Therefore, you can access Zoom using your university SSO credentials. If you do not have an SSO account yet, contact your faculty/institute/school/campus IT co-ordinator from here and check the account availability.
Data cost for Zoom meetings during COVID – 19 outbreak
Authorized users (university staff) could create Zoom meetings using learn.zoom.us portal. the meetings hosted at learn.zoom.us will have a low cost of data but it will not be 100% free depending on the hosting server of the meeting. Due to some reasons such as bandwidth, if a meeting is hosted at Zoom cloud or external server, the data charges will be applied.
FAQ:
Your University of Colombo Zoom account associates with your University SSO account. Read more about SSO. https://cmb.ac.lk/sso
- First, click on the above Sign-in button. Then search & select the University of Colombo from the list of organizations and continue.
- Then, Enter your University of Colombo SSO account’s username and password on the following login page.
- Then, you are permitted to sign-in to your Zoom account and able to start Meetings, Webinars, Recordings, etc.
If you need to reset your Zoom account’s password, you must follow the same steps in resetting your SSO account’s password. First, click on the “Reset password” button below and submit your SSO username. Then, you will be received a password reset link into your email. If you are not receiving an email, contact your faculty/institute/school/campus IT co-ordinator from here.
- Download the latest Zoom app from the Zoom website according to your device’s operating system and install the application.
- Launch the application on your device and if you wish to join a meeting, select the “Join a Meeting” option. Then, enter your Meeting ID or the personal link, that you received from the meeting creator.
- If you wish to Sign-in to your Zoom account, click on the “Sign in” button and select the ‘Sign in with SSO’.
Then, Enter the text “learn” in the next Dialog box and click on “Continue”. You will be redirected to the “Login with LIAF” web page. Next, search & select the University of Colombo from the list of organizations and continue.
- Enter your University of Colombo SSO account’s username and the password on the following login page. Read more about your university SSO profile
- Then, you are permitted to sign in to your Zoom account and able to start Meetings, Webinars, Recordings, etc.
- After signing in, you will see the following screen and if you wish to start an instant meeting click on ‘New Meeting’. If you wish to Join a meeting that is in progress, click on “Join” and enter your meeting ID.
- First, Start the meeting as the host and click the “Record” button in the Zoom toolbar. Then, you can change the recording location to the local computer or to your cloud space. The meeting host is permitted to record a meeting or the host can grant the ability to record to a participant.
- To stop the recording, click the “Pause/Stop Recording” or End Meeting. Once the recording has been stopped, the recording must be processed before viewing it.
- If you wish to upload your recorded videos on the university LMS/Web, please refer the guideline here “Guidelines for Lecturers – Recording and uploading eLearning Videos to the LMS/Web site”
Recording a Zoom Meeting
With the increasing number of University of Colombo staff members working remotely, the use of online collaboration tools such as Zoom gets popular among colleagues. To make your Zoom meetings more productive for every participant, review the following video conferencing best practices, and learn how to improve the experience.
BEFORE THE MEETING
- Protect your account and never share your account credentials with others. if you host a meeting add a unique password for each meeting.
- Test your audio and video connection before the meeting. Check your visual appearance on the video camera and turn ON your video unless your appearance or background is very inappropriate or distracting to your participants.
visit https://zoom.us/test - Ready for a backup communication plan such as email, Messenger, WhatsApp or SMS in case you have trouble connecting with your remote participants.
- To avoid unexpected situations, change your account settings as Turn off video and Mute the microphone when joining the meeting.
- Make sure you know how to share your screen with the participants and if possible, share the meeting documents before the meeting starts.
- You should avoid background noises such as children playing, TV/Radio, and barking dogs and find a quiet place to join the meeting. Put your mobile phone on silent and close any other apps that may send you notifications.
- Adjust your camera if it is too low or high. Your camera should be at your eye level and lighting should come from in front of you.
- If you wish to join someone else for you in the meeting, you should not forward the invitation email and ask the host to send an invitation to the representative.
DURING THE MEETING
- If you use your device’s mic and speakers, remember to mute your mic unless you are speaking. To make your conference lite, you can turn off your video unless you want to show your expressions to participants.
- When you share your screen with many participants, it is your responsibility not to share your confidential documents.
- Make sure your name appears on the screen properly, if not, the Host may remove unidentified participants at the meeting.
- You should give the priority to the chairperson and to indicate when you want to actively contribute verbally to the meeting, use visual cues such as raising a hand.
- Use the chat window to ask questions and avoid talking over or interrupting others.
- Stay seated and it’s best to avoid eating/drinking during the meeting.
- Do not record the meeting using a third-party app or device without the permission of the meeting host.
AFTER THE MEETING
You should not upload recorded meetings videos on online media such as Facebook, YouTube, without the permission of the meeting the Host, and the Chairperson.
How I use Zoom for effective teaching - Dr Hiran H E Jayaweera
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