Zoom Quick Guide for Participants
Zoom is Brandeis University's central web and video conferencing solution. Standard Zoom meetings can accommodate up to 300 participants. Remote participants do not need an account to join a meeting. The meeting must be hosted by an account owner, but all other participants can join as guests without requiring a login.
Joining a meeting
You should receive a web link from the meeting host, either via email, calendar invitation or a link from your LATTE course. By clicking on the link, the software will automatically download to your computer and prompt you to allow the installation if it is not already installed.
The link to join the Zoom meeting should look like this: https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/<MEETING ID>.
Connecting to audio
Once the software has launched, it will prompt you to connect your audio. You can connect audio using the following options:
- Computer Audio: Use your computer's microphone/speakers.
- Telephone: Connect via a telephone if your computer is not equipped with a microphone or speakers. Select "Phone Call" to view the meeting dial-in information or "Call Me" to have Zoom call you at a designated number (mobile or landline).
If you're using computer audio, you can test the microphone and speakers by clicking on the "Test Computer Mic & Speakers" button under the green "Join Audio Conference by Computer" button.
Basic meeting controls
- Mute/unmute Camera and Microphone: The camera and microphone mute buttons can be found on the left side of the control bar at the bottom of the video window. Learn more about the mute/unmute feature.
- Screen sharing: Any participant can share their screen by launching the "Share Screen" feature located in the center of the control bar. Learn more about screen sharing.
- Viewing the participants list: To open the list of participants, click on the "Participants" button on the control bar. From this section, you can raise your hand by clicking the "raise hand" button to notify the host that you would like to speak. Learn more about using the attendee controls.
Bandwidth requirements
- For 1:1 video calling: 600kbps (up/down) for high quality video and 1.2 Mbps (up/down) for HD video
- For group video calling: 600kbps/1.2Mbps (up/down) for high quality video. For gallery view: 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (up/down).
- For screen sharing only (no video thumbnail): 50-75kbps
- For screen sharing with video thumbnail: 50-150kbps
- For audio VoiP: 60-80kbps
Resources
Zoom support provides the following articles with additional information for participants:
- Attendee Controls in a Meeting
- Testing Computer or Device Audio
- Participating in Breakout Rooms
- Non-verbal Feedback in Meetings
Support
For questions or technical support, please contact the Technology Help Desk at help@brandeis.edu or 781-736-HELP (4357).