Q. Why is Zoom being discontinued?
A. After careful consideration, the university has decided not to renew Zoom licensing and instead consolidate efforts on Microsoft Teams. Both Zoom and Microsoft Teams offer similar features, including video conferencing, chat, breakout rooms, meeting recordings as well as document sharing and collaboration. Given current budgetary constraints, we need to optimise our spending and maintaining licenses for both platforms creates unnecessary redundancy. By focusing solely on Microsoft Teams, we can streamline costs and allocate resources more effectively, reduce administrative overhead and respond to student feedback on streamlining the use of virtual classroom tools.
Q. What should I use instead of Zoom?
A. The university has a site licence for Microsoft Teams which has the same core features as Zoom. This page on the IT Support Portal has information on setting up a Teams Meeting.
Q. I need additional help in setting up Teams for my requirements. How do I access further support?
A. Access this LinkedIn Learning resource called Microsoft Teams: Successful Meetings, Webinars and Events for top tips on setting up Teams to meet your specific needs. This includes instructions for Meetings, Breakout Rooms, Polls, Webinars, Meeting Transcriptions, Captions, Recording, Registration and controlling access through the meeting lobby. For any additional help for using Teams in learning and teaching not covered above please email [email protected].
Q. I run webinars with large number of attendees. Can I do this with Teams?
A. Yes, you can host MS Teams Live events (webinars) with up to 10,000 participants. Full user limits can be found here.
Q. I need to attend a Zoom meeting organised by an external organisation. Will I still be able to do this?
A. Yes. You do not need a Zoom licence to attend external Zoom meetings. You can access these using the free Zoom client (accessible via the Company Portal or Software Center) or in your web browser.
Q. I have recordings in Zoom that I want to keep. What should I do?
A. Before the Zoom license is discontinued, download any important recordings from Zoom Cloud Storage. Once the license is decommissioned, access to these recordings will be lost. If you still need to provide these recordings to students inside Moodle you can upload them to Panopto. Access the Panopto user guide for information on how to do this. Remember to update links inside Moodle or other sites where you have linked to them.
Q. How do I access my Zoom Recordings?
A. To access your recordings, sign in to the Zoom web portal. In the navigation menu, click Recording and then select the Cloud recordings tab.
Q. I use Zoom in my Moodle modules. What should I do instead?
A. The Zoom integration for Moodle is being disabled. Moodle also has a Teams activity so you can set up live classes as before. Student access to Teams is automated through the Moodle participants list.
Q. Can we limit the ability to hit record or stop record only to staff within MS Teams meetings?
A. Yes this can be done by setting up "Roles" view the Meeting Options, directly in MS Teams. The following guide provides the steps to take in order to set this up Roles in Microsoft Teams meetings - Microsoft Support