Creating a Zoom-meeting for a course

It is advisable to share the Zoom meeting login details (link, ID and password) with course participants via the learning platform (Moodle), for example, so that the distribution remains as limited as possible. This helps reduce the risk of the information falling into the wrong hands.

Once you have saved the meeting, its details will appear on the screen. The login information used in the invitation can be found on the Invite Link line. Zoom’s default invitation template is available via the Copy Invitation link. It is generally not recommended to use this template as-is, as it contains a lot of unnecessary information that is not needed for regular teaching purposes. Usually, it is sufficient to copy only the meeting link, ID and password from the invitation.

Later, you can view and edit the meeting details either in the Zoom application or on the Zoom website. All meetings you have created can be found in the Meetings menu. By clicking on the meeting name, you can view it in more detail and make changes if necessary.

If the course uses Moodle, the Zoom meeting can also be created directly on the course page via the Zoom activity. The Zoom activity in Moodle collects the Zoom meeting links of the course’s various teachers in one place, but it can also become confusing if too many teachers add their own recurring Zoom rooms there and the scheduling information is not then visible in the Zoom meeting details.

Events created in Moodle can be edited in the usual way via both the Zoom application and the Zoom website. A prerequisite for using this feature is that the teacher has logged into Zoom via the application or website so that the Zoom licence is active within Moodle as well. More detailed instructions on using this option can be found in the Moodle instructions.

Each implementation in Sisu has its own course page, which the teacher can edit. It is important to note that the course page is a public webpage visible not only to the course participants but also to a wider audience interested in the course topic. For this reason, Zoom login details should not be added directly into the text. There is now a dedicated field for login information, where the details are only visible to students who have been accepted onto the course.

You can read more about using course pages on the service’s instructions page.

In the university’s Zoom, password protection (Passcode) is enabled by default. Password protection helps filter out disruptive individuals who attempt to access open Zoom meetings by randomly guessing Meeting ID numbers. The password can be edited when creating the meeting or later via the meeting settings if needed. It is important to remember that changing the password also affects the meeting login link, so if changes are made during the course, all login details must be re-shared with participants. Sharing the direct, protected Zoom link via an open network, such as a public course page, naturally removes the protection provided by the password.

The Waiting room feature should be used with consideration. It is best suited for remote consultations or other small-scale use where attendance needs to be strictly controlled. In regular teaching situations, participants arriving late or those disconnected due to technical issues should be allowed to rejoin during the session. This usually causes more inconvenience than benefit.

The Require authentication to join -feature is generally not used in teaching. Many users are accustomed to joining meetings via a direct participation link and may not be logged into Zoom. This can easily lead to problems if authentication is required. If the setting is enabled, participants must first log into Zoom before they can open the teaching session via the link.

Meeting Options-recommendations

Allow participants to join anytime is usually disabled to prevent unauthorised use of the meeting. Participants can then only enter when you are present. If the course implementation requires open access to the Zoom meeting, the setting can of course be activated.

Mute participants upon entry is generally recommended so that participants do not have their microphones open by default when joining. This helps avoid unnecessary disturbances. 

The Breakout Room pre-assign -feature allows small group rooms to be created in advance, but it requires participants to have previously logged into Zoom, which is not always the case for students. It is easier to create Breakout Rooms during the event. More guidance on using the Breakout Room feature is available in the Helpdesk’s technical instructions.

Approve or block entry for users from specific countries/regions is a new and rarely used feature. It allows you to define which countries participants may join from or alternatively block certain countries. This feature appears to be related to the so-called Zoom bombing incidents that occurred at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, where uninvited guests appeared in unprotected meetings.

In the Alternative Hosts -field, you can add alternative hosts to the meeting who will receive extended rights (Host/Co-host) upon joining. This feature is especially useful for courses with multiple teachers. For each teaching session, there must be either the person who created the Zoom area (Host) or a pre-added Alternative Host. Otherwise, the meeting will end quickly and recording will not be possible. To add someone to the list, they must have signed in at least once to the university’s Zoom account. Individuals can be searched using their email address. External persons outside the university cannot be added as alternative hosts, but they can be granted extended rights during the meeting via the participant list.

Testing

It is advisable to test a new Zoom meeting and the planned workflow in advance, especially if you have no prior experience with it. The easiest way is to test with a small group, but it can also be done independently using multiple devices. On one device, you should log in to the meeting using your own credentials, which will make that device the host. On other devices, you can join the meeting without logging in by using the meeting login details (link or ID and password). If the implementation involves using a university space, it is best to conduct the tests there whenever possible. This allows potential issues to be identified in advance and solutions to be found. When booking a teaching space, it is important to ensure that the equipment (e.g. camera and microphones) is sufficient for the planned activity (see: Teaching facilities).

Sharing responsibility for creating Zoom meetings for groups

In cases where the course includes several simultaneous groups, it is recommended that each group leader creates their own Zoom meeting. The login details (link, ID and password) can be collected in Moodle, for example, where students can easily find the meeting for their own group. Due to Zoom’s limitations, meetings cannot be created centrally. If the groups start together in Zoom, separate breakout rooms can be created for them, which students can enter independently.

Remote coordinator

If students are present both in the teaching space and remotely via Zoom at the same time, it is helpful for the teacher to have a support person to look after the remote participants. This person could be another teacher on the course or a student appointed as a “remote coordinator”. This helps ensure a more equal experience for remote participants and allows the teacher to focus more easily on the teaching content.

More detailed technical instructions for creating different types of meetings can be found in the Helpdesk’s Zoom guidelines. In addition, Zoom’s own support pages provide answers to almost all questions related to the platform.

• Helpdesk instructions for creating Zoom meetings
• Zoom’s own instructions for creating meetings