Gather

• Check out the Gather Help & Tutorials to keep up with the latest updates.

• Built exclusively for DCE!  We're the only school at Harvard, or anywhere else, that has it.

• Use Gather to: 

• Enter your classroom that we have already created for you

• Publish your recordings (Attendance Required courses only)

• Create sections and office hours (Do NOT create your classroom)

• Find Gather on your Canvas course website by clicking the "Zoom" link in the left menu.

• When entering your classroom through Gather, click the "Join" button, then click the "Host" button.

• The first person on the teaching staff who clicks this button will open the room and enter as Host.

• When the account holder enters the room, they take over as Host.

General

• Updated icons and meeting visuals. “Security” button is now “Host tools”. 

• Personalized in-meeting toolbars are remembered for future sessions. “Reset to default” option under “More”.

• Zoom app now named Zoom Workplace app.

• End of support for Windows 7 and 8.

• “Portrait lighting for video” allows Zoom to dim your background while brightening you in the foreground. Available through in-app Video Settings.

• “Multi-speaker” video layout view adapts to current speakers by highlighting and enlarging their video tiles. It will only activate if 5 or more people are in the meeting and after selecting via the top right “View” button.

Share Screen

• Sharing the screen from the main room into Breakout rooms.

• Explore enhanced and new features on your own, contact web conference support for more information, or attend a Sharing Media in Zoom training.

• Features include:

• True stereo

• Share multiple windows

• Slides as a Virtual Background

Polls

• The owner of the meeting will see the “Polls/quizzes” icon in the toolbar and can use this to create and launch Polls, or can continue to do this by editing the meeting when going to their harvard.zoom.us account.

• Alt-Host can create and edit Polls from within the Zoom meeting if this option has been enabled and the owner has already created at least one poll.

• Polls results don't show up in recordings when sharing results. View results in your browser and share your browser tab for results to be recorded. You can download poll results while in the meeting. 

• Asynchronous students cannot participate in Zoom polls.

Advanced Polls and Quizzes must be enabled in User Account Settings via harvard.zoom.us to create a wider variety of Poll and Quiz types and to add images to questions:

• Marching

• Rank order

• Short answer

• Long answer

• Rating

Learn about how this affects recordings, reports, interaction with your web browser, and asynchronous student participation on our web page for Zoom Advanced Polling and Quizzing for Meetings, or attend DCE Polls Training.

Breakout Rooms

• Content, including sound, can be shared from the main room into Breakout rooms.

• Breakout rooms must be open first, then choose "Share to Breakout rooms" after clicking the green share folder icon.

• Students in Breakout rooms can't share while content is being shared from the main room.

• Co-Host can create Breakout rooms and move into and out of rooms.

• Hosts can view activity statuses of participants in Breakout rooms (e.g. share screen, raise hand).

• Students can move themselves into rooms. Choose "Let participants choose room" when creating rooms.

Learn more by attending a Breakout Room Training.

Accessibility

• For Photosensitivity, Users can set Zoom to automatically dim a video that has flashing images or patterns. Enable this via the in-meeting Accessibility Settings. 

• Host can lock down language for automated captions in-meeting, but by default any participant can change the language for everyone. There are no settings in the web portal currently to lock this down ahead of the meeting. 

• Isolate a separate window for Sign Language Interpretation in recording when turned on via harvard.zoom.us.

• Automated transcription available within meeting and in recording when turned on via harvard.zoom.us. This tool is not ADA-compliant. Contact web conference support for more information.

Apps

Click the “Apps” icon in the toolbar to see apps approved by DCE, along with others offered by Zoom.

Timer

Can be used:

• Let students know when their breaks start and end.

• Keep track of how long students have been in Breakout rooms.

• Keep students within their time limits when they are giving presentations.

• Instructors, TAs, and students can use the Timer app.

To install Timer, click on “Timer”, click “Add”, then Allow Timer the permissions it requires.

Miro

Miro is a versatile whiteboard app. Although DCE doesn't offer support for Miro, it is available via the “Apps” icon in the Zoom toolbar. You are welcome to use it in a Zoom class. 

Hosts and Co-Hosts

• Co-instructors and TAs are added to the meetings as Alt-Hosts the first time they click "Join", then "Host" buttons in Gather.

• No need to manually add Alt-Hosts.

• Co-Hosts can create Breakout rooms.

• Co-Hosts can launch Polls.

• Hosts and Co-Hosts can virtually raise their hands.

Whiteboards Tool

In addition to the Classic Whiteboard that has been available through Share Screen, this new Whiteboards tool has its own icon and toolbar. It is available in the meeting, in the desktop client, or in the Zoom web portal: harvard.zoom.us.

• Create whiteboards before class.

• Students can edit after class if they have their own Zoom accounts.

• Editing options and tools: 

• Copy, Paste, Duplicate, Delete

• Bring Forward, Bring to Front, Send Backward, Send to Back

• Rotate, Resize

• Add or Reply to comment

• Sticky Note can be used the same way as Jamboard or Padlet for brainstorming with the whole class or in Breakout rooms. 

• Sticky Notes can receive up and down votes.

• Use the line tool to make connections between Sticky Notes.

• Use the Templates to provide continuity throughout your lesson.

• Format your Whiteboard using Tables to organize ideas.

• Experiment with creating Mind Map to generate and organize ideas.

Learn more by attending a Whiteboarding and Annotation in Zoom.

React

Students click "Reactions" to enable: 

• Virtual raise Hand icon

• Yes (green check) or No (red X)

• Other nonverbal feedback

Virtual Background

The Virtual Background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom meeting.

• Use a background from Zoom or use your own.

• Blurred background allows you to maintain some privacy with regard to your surroundings.