Zoom Security

|  Security  |  Chat  |  Participant List  |  Audio Video  |  Share Screen  |  Whiteboard  |  Breakout Rooms 

Ensuring a safe and secure learning environment is important in our physical classrooms as well as in our online virtual meetings and class get togethers. It is critical that educators take time to review and become familiar with the various security options, controls, and tools available in whatever web/online conference platform they use.

    Features & Functions

Global Configurations
Some of the following Zoom options may have already been configured or enabled by your district if your school is using a Zoom Education Plan environment. However, many of these are also available to free “Basic” Zoom account users. Take a few minutes to review these highlights and then check with your school or district’s technology office for more details about the unique policies and practices specific to your community.

Individual Meeting Configurations
Most of the following options can be preset in your account ahead of time and therefore be applied to any Zoom Meetings you schedule and host. Some can be enabled or disabled on a meeting-by-meeting basis. You’ll find more details in the accompanying pages for some of the primary Zoom tools like Chat, Participants, Audio/Video, Screen Sharing, Whiteboard, and Breakout Rooms.

Testing Your System
Review each of the following items and then login to your Zoom account via a web browser (www.zoom.us). Most of these options are found in the SETTINGS > MEETINGS area of your account with toggle switches to enable/disable specific features. Those that are greyed out are ones that may be put in place and managed by your district, but others may be available for you to turn on/off as you like.

    Teaching Tips

Below are the steps you can take to ensure your meetings are safe and secure.

Use Unique Meeting IDs

Avoid using your Personal Meeting ID when scheduling or hosting virtual classroom sessions. Instead, it's best to use Zoom’s “Generate Automatically” option to create unique Meeting IDs for each Zoom meeting you schedule and host. 

This option is a preset you configure in your Zoom account that will be used as the default setting when creating meetings. 

To setup the use of generating unique meeting IDs:

1. Login to your Zoom account via the website at www.zoom.us.
2. In your My Account area, go to the Personal > Settings > Meeting page.
3. TURN OFF each of the following options.

• Use Personal Meeting ID (PMI) when scheduling a meeting
• Use Personal Meeting ID (PMI) when starting an instant meeting

  

LEARN MORE: See how to Scheduling Zoom Meetings.

Use Password-Protected Meetings

For free, Basic Zoom account users, Zoom now requires the use of password-protected meetings. You will see these locked presets in your Zoom account Personal > Settings > Meeting page. 

For Education Plan Zoom users, locate these options in your Zoom account to see whether these are also enabled or you may TURN ON these yourself for your account.

This option is a preset you configure in your Zoom account that will be used as the default setting when creating meetings. 

LEARN MORE: Zoom Meeting Passwords

  

Use Waiting Rooms

When you use a Waiting Room, as students join your meeting they will see a “Waiting Room” screen and you can admit students one-by-one (or all-at-once) into the meeting. This is a great way to prevent surprise or uncertain visitors from entering your Zoom class without your approval.

This option is a preset you configure in your Zoom account that will be applied to all meetings.

LEARN MORE:  See Waiting Rooms in Action

 

Locking Meetings

Teachers can lock their Zoom meeting at any time after it has started. Allow enough time for all students to report to class and show up. Then, look in the Participants panel for the Lock Meeting button.

Note: This option is used in individual meetings after they have started. 

Control Screen Sharing

Most organizations have the Share Screen privileges default set so that only teachers (as “hosts”) have the ability to share their screen. However, during a meeting, if students need to share their work with the group, you can allow screen sharing in the host controls.

To modify who can share their screen within a meeting:

• Click the arrow next to Share Screen and then Advanced Sharing Options. Under “Who can share?” choose “Only Host” and close the window. You can also change the default sharing option to All Participants in your Zoom settings. 

Note: This option is likely preset to “Host Only” by your district as the default in your Zoom account settings. However, during any meeting you can enable participants to share their screen when needed.

LEARN MORE:  Managing Participants in a Meeting

Restrict Private Chat & Screen Sharing

Teachers can restrict the meeting chat so that students can only post chat messages that are visible to everyone and cannot privately message other students. In addition, you can turn off the ability to share files via the chat window. 

Note: This option is a preset you configure in your Zoom account that will be applied to all meetings. You may also enable/disable chat options within a meeting itself as well.

  

  

LEARN MORE: How to control chat access

 

Zoom's "Best Practices" blog article for additional information and resources for each of the above.