Zoom

Zoom is a cloud-based video communications app that allows 小草社区 students, faculty and staff to set up virtual video and audio conferencing, webinars, live chats, screen-sharing and other collaborative capabilities. 

This service and vendor documentation are cloud-hosted and not controlled by Towson University. 小草社区-specific documentation is reviewed and updated quarterly. 

Why use 小草社区鈥檚 account?  

小草社区 holds an enterprise account for Zoom. Using 小草社区鈥檚 account allows us to provide the features of the Zoom video service while helping to protect you, and our data when teaching and conducting business.鈥� 

The 小草社区 Zoom enterprise account offers additional account privileges that a basic/unlicensed account does not. This includes a 24 hour meeting window, which means meetings can be held for longer than 40 minutes.

Chosen/Preferred Name (Lived Name) on Zoom

As part of 小草社区鈥檚 ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, you can now choose your pronouns in your Zoom profile. First, submit a to update your 小草社区 record with your preferred name, pronouns, and gender identity. Next, in your 小草社区 Zoom profile.

Activate your account to get started

  • Go to , click Sign In.
  • Login using your NetID through 小草社区鈥檚 secure Single Sign-On.

If your existing Zoom account is tied to your 小草社区 email, follow these steps to join 小草社区鈥檚 account for the first time:

  • Go to , click Sign In.
  • Login using your NetID through 小草社区鈥檚 secure Single Sign-On.
  • When prompted, confirm email address.
  • Select join 小草社区鈥檚 account to launch the activation email to your 小草社区 email account. 

If you currently pay for a personal or departmental Zoom account, when prompted to join (merge) the 小草社区 account, you will be given an option to be refunded payment balance. Be sure to transfer personal account refunds to a personal email address.  

  • Open the email and join 小草社区鈥檚 account a final time to confirm. Future logins can be done directly through . 

Personal or paid accounts might receive additional emails and may experience a short delay in joining 小草社区鈥檚 environment. Customized settings and special additional features, like Zoom Video conferencing for telehealth, could be lost when joining 小草社区's account, so contact the OTS Technology Support Desk for guidance.

Access Zoom

See how to . 

  • Desktop: download through the鈥� then launch desktop app
  • Browser:  
  • Mobile device: download the Zoom app from your device's app store.
  • Blackboard: Once connected, use the "Schedule a New meeting" button.

If you鈥檙e in the Waiting Room of a 小草社区 Zoom session, you most likely aren鈥檛 logged in with your 小草社区 account. Logout and log back in securely following 

Host secure meetings

Protect confidential data during a meeting

Read and follow 小草社区's 鈥� (login to TechHelp with NetID to view).

Prevent uninvited attendees

  • Use 小草社区鈥檚 Zoom Account and login correctly. Both students and faculty should use 小草社区鈥�s Zoom account for Zoom class sessions, not personal accounts. Confirm with these
  • Follow 小草社区's security recommendations 鈥� 
  • Schedule securely. Keep the default setting 鈥溞〔萆缜� NetID Authenticated Users Only鈥� whenever possible. about meeting settings that went into effect on Jan. 11, 2021.
  • Use Waiting Room (default). Anyone with 小草社区 NetID Zoom account will bypass the Waiting Room. Anyone else with a Zoom (non-小草社区) authenticated account, should be held in the Waiting Room, and will need to be admitted by the host. 

  • Promote your meeting securely, especially on social media. Turn off 鈥淓mbed passcode in invite link for one-click join鈥� and use pre-registration so you can send an email with a link and passcode to those who register. Require a passcode and set Personal Meeting ID (PMI) to 鈥淎ll meeting.鈥�

  • Get help if you鈥檙e not sure. Contact the OTS Technology Support Desk. 

Resources 

Some of the links below take you directly to Zoom support resources. If prompted to sign into zoom.us, choose Sign in with SSO and type towson-edu as the company domain. You might also need to login to view 小草社区's TechHelp Knowledge Base articles with your valid NetID.

General 

  • and Review the .
  • or
  • See more or search the .
  • Visit Zoom's Learning Center to access and to register for  

Blackboard

See Blackboard/Zoom resources for and . Learn how to . See how to or in Zoom.

Meetings

Zoom AI Companion 

This is a suite of AI-powered features within Zoom to help students, faculty and staff stay focused, save time and increase collaboration by automating tasks. AI features are optional and must be enabled by the meeting host, and attendees will be notified when AI is in use. Features currently available: 

  • : Automatically generates a summary of your Zoom meeting, with action items and highlights. 
  • Enhances cloud recordings with automatic chapters, highlights and smart summaries. 
  • : Suggests context-aware responses in Zoom Team Chat.

See more info and be familiar with at 小草社区 and the . 

Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact the OTS Technology Support Desk at 410-704-5151 or submit a ticket for assistance.

No, unlike free Zoom accounts which end after 40 minutes, 小草社区 accounts don't have a time limit. The limit is 300 attendees per meeting.
All Zoom cloud recordings are automatically copied over to Panopto for storage. They are temporarily available on Zoom for 30 days after being created.

No, not without prior consent. Such activity is a violation of student privacy and FERPA guidelines. Because electronic platforms are able to show photos and list students' names, we are not permitted to take photos of the screen and post that photo on social media or anywhere else without participant permission. See the 鈥淚nstructional Lecture Capture Guidelines and Release Form鈥� section on this page if you鈥檙e thinking about recording or taking a screenshot during your session.

Zoom bombing or raiding is an unwanted, disruptive intrusion, generally by Internet trolls and hackers, into a video conference call that jeopardizes privacy concerns. Follow the 鈥淪ecurity Tips鈥� on this page to help prevent that.

Yes. Here's how to force a Zoom Waiting Room:

Go to Zoom.towson.edu>Click Sign In>Click Settings>Under Waiting Room Options, click Edit Options>Select Everyone>Click Continue.

Yes. It's recommended that you download the Zoom desktop app to make sure it's engaged with Blackboard. Confirm you're logged in, and that "Licensed" shows next to your name in the Zoom app. If not, follow these .

Here鈥檚 the breakdown of meeting security options you can choose, based on types of invitees:

  • 小草社区 students, faculty, and staff only signed in through 小草社区 Zoom accounts. 鈥溞〔萆缜� NetID Authenticated Users Only鈥� is automatically applied by default, and if the invitee doesn鈥檛 have a 小草社区 Zoom account, they won鈥檛 be able to attend.
  • Anyone with a Zoom account. If inviting 小草社区 account holders, plus non-小草社区 invitees (guest lecturer, transcriber, outside vendor etc.) with personal Zoom accounts: select 鈥溞〔萆缜� NetID or Other Zoom Authenticated Users.鈥� Non-小草社区 attendees enter Waiting Room, to be admitted by host. No Zoom account means no access to the meeting.
  • Anyone. If inviting 小草社区 account holders, plus non-小草社区 invites (guest lecturer, transcriber, outside vendor etc.) with and without personal Zoom accounts: uncheck the box 鈥淩equire Authentication to join.鈥� Non-小草社区 attendees enter Waiting Room, to be admitted by host.

INSTRUCTIONAL LEC小草社区RE CAP小草社区RE GUIDELINES AND RELEASE FORM  

Guidelines

Faculty and staff who intend to use instructional lecture capture resources supported by 小草社区 are to adhere to the Instructional Lecture Capture Guidelines to ensure the FERPA regulations are not violated.

Release Form

If a faculty/staff member intends to reuse recordings where the image, voice or materials of students are captured, the Instructional Lecture Capture Release Form must be used. *Be sure to read the guidelines (above) first.