Introducing Zoom web conferencing

Over the past few years, there has been a boom in demand for web conferencing services (such as Adobe Connect, Skype, WebEx, and GoToMeeting). While these tools are handy, we haven’t always been satisfied with their quality or ease of use.

As of February 2017, all Widener faculty, staff, and students have a basic Zoom account— just go to http://widener.zoom.us. Sign in with your Widener University username and password.

With your Zoom basic account, you can have a one-to-one meeting with anybody for an unlimited amount of time. You can also create class sessions or meetings for 3-50 people, but they will be limited to 40 minutes. Regardless of length, you can record and download a video file of any session.

I’m interested! Now what do I do?

Log into the basic Zoom account to try it out. Faculty and staff who want to use Zoom for classes or meetings of 3-50 people can contact the help desk (itshelp@widener.edu, x1047). We can upgrade your basic account to a pro account, which has no session time limits. All you have to do is ask us!

If you are interested in more in-depth ZOOM training or have questions about using the platform for teaching, please feel free to contact TLT Classroom Support (x4090)

Why Zoom?

You may be surprised how easy it is to start up a meeting. All you need to know are your participants’ email addresses. They can access a meeting from nearly any computer or mobile device. (Obviously, they need a camera to be seen, but you can have a mix of users who have cameras and those who don’t.)

One of the big advantages of Zoom is that your participants do not need to have a Zoom account. They only need to be able to do a quick download of the software, which they’re assisted with when they receive your invitation.

Zoom is a great way to carry on synchronous online classes, or to include colleagues in meetings when they’re at a remote location. It’s also a great way to reduce the costs and the environmental impacts of some travel.