TechSoup serves many organizations and people across the globe. One of the many tools we rely on to help us fulfill our mission is Zoom.
With Zoom, we are able to conduct trainings, host global collaboration sessions, and increase real-time interactions with our partners. As we've adopted Zoom, we've learned a few things along the way and even uncovered a few hidden gems we'd like to share with you. Here are three Zoom collaboration features we've discovered.
Zoom Tip #1: Collaboration on the Fly with Personal Meeting ID (PMI)
When a conference room isn't enough, and you need to collaborate with others who are remote, Zoom offers a personal meeting ID for each user. A personal meeting ID enables access to a permanent virtual room you can start anytime. At TechSoup, when we need to have an impromptu meeting internally or even with a partner, we've found this feature to be helpful. It makes on-the-fly meetings happen quickly and efficiently. Here's how to access your PMI if you already have Zoom.
Instant Meeting with PMI on the Zoom Client
- Log in to your Zoom client application from your desktop or applications.
- Click Meetings and then Upcoming on your home client options.
- Click Always use PMI for instant meetings on this computer.
- Click the mouse near the word "Today" and then click the Start button.
Zoom Tip #2: Work in Real Time On-Screen with Co-annotations
Sometimes just sharing your screen isn't enough, especially when you are collaborating on critical deliverables like your annual budget, annual report, strategic plan, or even executive board meeting minutes. With Zoom, once you've shared your screen, you and meeting participants can co-annotate the shared feed. Using the annotation features such as arrows, lines, pen, highlighter, and eraser, you can create the next version of your deliverable in real time. At TechSoup, we also use the lock annotations feature when we've collected all of the feedback we need and are ready to move into the next phase of iteration. Here's how to access the co-annotation features, as explained by Zoom in one of its tutorials.
Annotations
During your screen share, you will have the option of using several features. By moving your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, open the drop-down menu and select Annotate.
Zoom's annotation tools include the following:
- Mouse
- Draw
- Spotlight
- Eraser
- Color
- Undo
- Redo
- Clear
- Save
The Save tool allows you to instantly save all annotations on the screen as a screenshot. The screenshot is saved to the default meeting folder along with the recording of the meeting.
If you are using a dual monitor setup, you can turn on the dual screen for dual monitor feature to see the screen sharing on one monitor and participants on the second. For more information, please see Zoom's tutorial on how to use a dual monitor display.
Attendee Side Annotation
Any attendee in your meeting can start annotating on a shared screen. The attendee can access Annotate in the upper meeting toolbar.
Note: If the host of the meeting disables attendee annotation, attendees will not be able to use this feature.
MORE ON CO-ANNOTATIONS
Zoom Tip #3: Collaboration on the Go with Mobile Screen Sharing
Being global means we are often on the go and using our smartphones to collaborate. Zoom's mobile screen sharing enables us to share important documents on our phone. And it enables us to deliver on our promises to the people and organizations we serve without having to be on-site.
Mobile screen sharing is also a useful feature for demonstrating apps, which many nonprofits use in their everyday quest to serve their constituents. Here's a brief step-by-step tutorial on how to use the mobile screen-sharing feature.
Prerequisites for Mobile Sharing
- You must use the Zoom client version 3.0+ for PC or 3.5+ For Mac.
- Your PC and iOS device must be on the same network.
- You need to install the plug-in for sharing on your iPhone or iPad.
- This feature is supported on an iPhone 4 (or later), iPad, or iPad mini (4th generation or later).
How to Download
To download the iPhone/iPad sharing plug-in, you can simply click on the option to share your iPhone/iPad in the Zoom client (shown below), or download it manually in the Zoom Download Center. If you have installed a desktop firewall, please ensure that it allows inbound and outbound access for airhost.exe (Windows) or airhost.app (Mac).
How to Share
- Start or join a Zoom meeting.
- Click the Share Screen button on the menu bar.
- Double click the iPhone/iPad option.
- Follow the instructions provided to connect your iOS device.
- Swipe up from the bottom on your device to bring up the menu.
- Click on the AirPlay button and select the Zoom Meeting option.
- Turn on mirroring.
Once connected, your iOS device screen will be mirrored and shared through the Zoom application. You can screen share any apps (although video content such as an MP4 file is not shared).
Additional Information and Resources on Zoom for Nonprofits
Zoom tutorials are copyrighted by Zoom; used with permission.
Screenshots courtesy of Zoom; used with permission
