Zoom is one of the world’s primary providers of video conferencing solutions utilized by businesses, government institutions, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations. Zoom is compatible with browsers, desktops, mobile devices, and tablets and has over 12 million commercial and educational users. It also enables you to share your desktop or a portion of a presentation in a per-meeting, free conference room. Moreover. Zoom for Schools is a version of the Zoom video conferencing platform that is intended for use in educational environments. It offers video and audio conferencing, screen sharing, chat, and virtual whiteboards to educators and students to enable remote learning.
Some of the key features of Zoom for Schools include:
- Breakout rooms. Teachers can create separate virtual rooms for small group discussions or activities, which allows students to collaborate more effectively. Zoom’s breakout spaces are an advantageous feature for schools. They enable the creation of a space without audio or video feeds, allowing instructors to collaborate without broadcasting their conversation to the entire class. This enables greater discretion and privacy in how teachers utilize the platform.
- Recording: Your Zoom meetings can be recorded and shared with your students. This is an excellent method to ensure that your students are maximizing their time with you. You can also share recordings with other instructors or administrators at your school, ensuring that everyone involved in the education of your student is on the same page. Teachers can record meetings for later playback, which can be useful for students who missed a session or for reviewing content.
- Virtual whiteboard: Zoom for schools includes a virtual whiteboard that allows you to draw on the screen with your cursor or finger, then share it in real-time with your audience. The virtual whiteboard is ideal for instructors who wish to create an interactive PowerPoint presentation, or for students who wish to share notes with their classmates without passing out paper copies.
- Screen sharing: Zoom for schools offers screen-sharing capabilities to facilitate teacher-student collaboration. Screen sharing enables you to share your desktop with other Zoom users, allowing them to view your computer’s display. The advantage of screen sharing is that it makes it simpler for others to follow along by allowing you to share your computer’s screen with them. This facilitates student and instructor collaboration on projects, presentations, and more.
- Polls and quizzes: Teachers can use Zoom’s polling and quiz features to engage students and check their understanding. Take a poll with your class, distribute it to the entire class, or just give it to a small group. Polls are great for getting information about what students think about a particular topic or activity. They can be used as part of your lesson plan or as an assessment tool. Moreover, Quizzes are one of the most popular tools used in classrooms today—and for good reason! Quizzes help students practice what they’ve learned, assess their learning from a specific lesson, and prepare them for future assessments like exams.
- Security features: Zoom for Schools provides a range of security features, such as waiting rooms and password protection, to ensure that only authorized users can access virtual classrooms. A two-factor authentication system that requires a password and a code sent by text message to log in. This ensures that only those who have both pieces of information can access your account.
Overall, Zoom for Schools is a valuable tool for educators and students who need to engage in remote learning. It provides a range of features that enable effective communication and collaboration, while also ensuring that virtual classrooms are secure and private. Teachers can see and hear their students’ presentations using Zoom. Students have the option of using their own devices, a shared whiteboard, or a combination of both. Additionally, Zoom for schools ensures that every student is on the same page and ready to learn. This technology has entirely transformed my daily interactions with students.
Beyontel is a vendor-agnostic IT consulting company specializing in VoIP and cloud-based unified communications. Contact us today to help you decide the best collaboration tool needs for your organization.