Recent updates to Zoom software enable live captions for any meeting, more controls for arranging participants on your screen, and managing breakout room activities. For more information about holding class via Zoom, visit the CTL’s Teaching Resources.
Now available: live automated captioning in all CU Boulder Zoom meetings!
Zoom meetings hosted in CU Boulder accounts now have the option to enable real-time, automated captions at no cost. First, the meeting host needs to log in at cuboulder.zoom.us and turn on the account-level captioning ability. Then, in each meeting, the host will need to enable live captions. Participants can opt to display captions along the bottom of their screen, in a sidebar, or turn them off entirely. The Digital Accessibility Office has created a step-by-step guide to turning on captions here. Note that automated captions are not sufficiently accurate to address a captioning accommodation.
Enabling captions allows students the option to engage with course materials in multiple ways, and can benefit all your students. Some students may find captions distracting, so explain that each participant has the option to turn them off even if enabled in the meeting. Unfortunately, automated captions do not work in breakout rooms.
More control over screen layouts in gallery view
Did you know you can rearrange video screens in gallery view? Set speaking or presentation orders, or track who’s already participated in a discussion by rearranging students’ video tiles. A recent Zoom update allows each meeting participant to click and drag video tiles on your screen to arrange custom views. Video boxes will remain in the order you select, and anyone joining will be added at the bottom of the screen. By default, each participant in a Zoom meeting can rearrange their views independently of the host's. If desired, however, the host can opt to display their own custom view to all participants.
Let students pick breakout rooms by topic
In newer versions of Zoom, the meeting host can open a set number of breakout rooms and allow participants to choose their room. This enhanced functionality presents many possibilities for instructors. Rename each room with a topic or theme for an icebreaker or class activity; label rooms by problem number on a homework set and have students join to work a specific problem with others; divide up rooms for presentations or working groups and have students pick where they participate. You can create the same rooms each class meeting for continuity throughout the semester or change room topics as you see fit.
Both the host and meeting participants must be running Zoom desktop software of version 5.3.0 or later to let students self-select breakout rooms. You will still be able to manually place students into rooms who cannot move themselves.
Preassign breakout rooms to save time in class
Breakout room assignments can be created in advance to help you manage class time efficiently. Log in at cuboulder.zoom.us and select the existing meeting to pre-assign students to breakout room groups. Add students by IdentiKey email address, looking them up in the Zoom web portal or uploading a CSV file. Students must be signed into Zoom using that email address for the pre-assignments to properly place them into rooms.
If other arrangements of breakout rooms are needed later in the meeting, you can rearrange rooms manually by clicking “Recreate” in the breakout room settings. You can “Recover to preassigned rooms” if needed later.
For more information and ideas for holding remote class via Zoom, visit the CTL’s guides to teaching well with Zoom. CTL staff are available for consultations to discuss any aspect of your teaching, including leveraging Zoom for remote teaching. Additionally, OIT documentation and support are available, and the Zoom Help Center details many available interactions and functions.