You would like to make video conferences with your students, but don’t know which program to rely on? Some of your collaborators work in a smart working way and you would like to find some solution to communicate with them remotely? Then I think you should take a look at Zoom Meeting.

You may have already heard of it: it is a free, basic platform, used mainly in the business and school circles for videoconferencing. Unlike Skype, it does not require the creation of a list of contacts inside the program. To start a call, simply share the link to the virtual environment that hosts it. So, using it, anyone can take part in the videoconference. Really comfortable, isn’t it?

Then I would say not to waste any more time chatting. Let’s see in detail how to use Zoom Meeting. Come on: get comfortable, concentrate on reading the next paragraphs and, above all, try to put into practice the indications I am about to give you. I bet it will be very useful to you!

How it works

As for the main function of Zoom, know that this platform is very simple to use. As I anticipated in the introduction, in fact, only the “calling” user must create an account: the participants of the call can join the same through the link that is sent to them.

Having said that, keep reading: furthermore, on this website, you can find instructions on how to activate a Zoom account.

How to use Zoom Meeting from smartphones and tablets

Finally, we come to see how to use Zoom Meeting on smartphones and tablets. Once you successfully activated the account, open the Zoom app, tap on the Sign In item located at the top-right corner. At this point, fill in the Email and Password fields with your login information. So, tap on the Sign In button to log in. However, I would like to point out the possibility of logging in more quickly using your Google account, your Facebook account or, again, via SSO (a domain that can be purchased, only for business users).

Once logged in, tap the New Meeting button located at the top left; move (if necessary) to ON the switch located next to Video On and press the Start a Meeting button. If you have not already been asked to do so, grant the app permissions to access the camera and microphone.

Adding participants

At this point, the conference is almost started. To invite other users to participate, tap the Participants button (if you don’t see it, tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the menu located at the bottom) and, in the screen that opens, press the Invite button located at the bottom .

In the opened box, select one of the sending methods among those available (eg Messenger, Gmail, Outlook, etc.). Alternatively, copy the invitation link using the Copy URL button (the last item in the list). Then, send the link as the more you prefer (eg WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.).

Once the conference participants have been invited, from the Participants screen where you are right now, you can also manage the microphone and the camera of these participants, chat with them, rename them and so on. Just tap on their name and select one of the available options (eg Mute, Stop video, Chat, Rename, etc.).

In the main video conference screen, however, through the menu located at the top you can do the following operations:

• Turn off your microphone (Mute / Unmute) and your camera (Stop Video / Start Video).
• Share content (Share).
• See the list of other participants (Participants ).

To quit a conference, however, tap the End button located at the top right and confirm the operation by pressing the End Meeting item.

Joining a Zoom Meeting

What should you do to join another user’s meeting instead? After installing and starting the Zoom app, press on the link sent to you by the host (i.e. by the user who created the video conference). Enter your name in the appropriate text field and tap the Continue button.

Then accept the conditions of the platform, pressing on the button I Agree in the opened box, and grant the app the necessary permissions to work correctly, specifically those relating to access to the camera and microphone (if you haven’t already done).

To proceed, then tap the Join with video button and you’re done. Using the buttons located at the bottom, as I explained before, you can do the following operations:

• Turn off the microphone (Mute / Unmute) and camera (Stop Video / Start Video)
• Share content (Share)
• See the list of other participants (Participants).

To leave a meeting, however, tap the Leave button located at the top right and confirm the operation by pressing the Leave Meeting button. Simple, right?

How to use Zoom Meeting from computer

If you are interested in using Zoom Meeting on PC, click on the Sign In button. If you are not yet registered, click on the button, in order to register with your email. The steps to follow are the same as I showed you in this tutorial.

Once registered, log in to your account by filling in the Email and Password text fields and then click on the Sign In button to log in. If you prefer, log in with your Google or Facebook account by clicking on the appropriate buttons.

Once logged in, click on the Continue button, click on the orange color New Meeting button located at the top left corner of the window. Then, grant Zoom the permissions to access the webcam and the computer microphone. Then click on the Join With Computer Audio button. Speaking of webcam and microphone, I would like to point out the possibility to customize some settings related to these devices.

Video and Audio settings

If you want to operate on the webcam, click on the wheel icon (at the top right corner of the main Zoom window) and select the Video item in the opened box.

• Camera menu: select the webcam to be used for conferences and the aspect ratio (16:9 or Original ratio).
• My Video section: Choose whether to transmit the video in HD. Choose whether or not to apply the mirror effect and touch up your appearance.
• Meetings section: indicate whether you want to always show the name of the participants in the video, whether to deactivate your video when you attend a meeting and so on.

As for the microphone, instead, select the Audio item from the sidebar on the left of the Settings screen. Using the menu located in the Microphone item, select the microphone to be used.

To test it, click on the Test Mic button. Start saying something and click on the Recording button to stop the recording. Then click on the Playing button to check the incoming audio quality. If you want to manually adjust the input volume level, remove the check from the Automatically adjust microphone volume box. Then use the appropriate adjustment bar to make the desired changes.

Adding participants

At this point, the videoconference is almost started. To invite participants, click on the Invite button. In the window that opens, select the Email tab and send the invitation link to the video conference with Gmail, Yahoo Mail or the client set by default (Default Email). Otherwise, click on the Copy URL button (bottom left). So, send the invitation link to the videoconference as you prefer (eg WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.).

As I already explained to you, the user who will receive the link, will simply have to click on it. Then agree to open the Zoom app from smartphones and tablets or from his desktop client (if he also operates as a PC).

To manage the video conference, then, you can use the buttons located at the bottom:

• Mute / Unmute, to deactivate and activate the microphone.
• Stop Video / Start Video, to deactivate and activate the webcam.
• Invite, to send new invitations.
• Manage Participants, to control the various participants in the call.
• Share Screen, to share the screen.
• Chat, to send messages to conference participants.
• Record, to record the call and Reactions to send reactions.

To end the call, however, click on the End Meeting button and then confirm the operation by clicking on the End Meeting for All item in the menu that opens.

From Browser

I remind you that Zoom is also available as a Web application that can be used on Chrome: just go to this page. Click on the Sign up, It’s free button (if you want to make a video call) or on the Join a meeting button (if you want to participate to a video call already started), following more or less the instructions I have given you previously.