Zoom for Online Meetings
As you may have discovered with friends and family, online meetings have become a good way of keeping in touch during the lockdown period. Curently, Zoom seems to be the most popular platform, although other programs such as WhatsApp and Skype are also possible - there are various pros and cons to each. A number of our groups started using Zoom during Lockdown, some are continuing this way, and, more recently, some groups have been able to meet in a socially-distanced way.
Using Zoom
Zoom has been recommended by the Third Age Trust for online meetings. It has become widely used in the UK over recent months, and the security of the software has improved over this time, making it the preferred option for many organisations. Zoom includes 'tools' for managing meetings and sharing information. It can be used on desktop/laptop computers, tablets and smart phones.
The organiser of a Zoom meeting is known as the 'host'. The host invites other participants by emailing a link to the meeting.
Groups can use the free version of Zoom to hold meetings of up to 40 minutes - after this time, the meeting will end, however in practice another meeting can be started immediately, allowing groups to meet for longer than 40 minutes with a short break between each session.Ripon U3A has taken out a Zoom licence which allows longer meetings - we will be using this for the forthcoming monthly meeting, and are currently considering how the licence could be made available to groups as our licence only permits one assigned host. A number of groups have acquired their own licence, sharing the cost between group members.
Getting Started with Zoom
- You can sign up for a free Zoom account Zoom Sign Up (see link on right of this page).
- You can then install the Zoom program on your device (PC/laptop/tablet/phone) from the Zoom download (see link on right of this page. When using Zoom , always sign in using the email and password with which you registered with Zoom.
- It is possible to use Zoom without downloading the program - clicking the link sent by the host will open the Zoom meeting in the web browser (eg Chrome, Safari) on your device. However, it is recommended to download the program.
Training
- The Third Age Trust have produced guides to using Zoom on desktop and mobile devices (see link on right of this page)
- U3A are running various online tutorials about using Zoom & hosting meetings (See link on right of this page)
Ripon U3A Zoom Meetings
- We will be running our AGM by Zoom on Monday 26th October at 2pm. Please see Events page for details, and how to join the meeting.
Further Information
- Please send me (Webmaster) a message via the Contact page if you would like further information on using Zoom or hosting a meeting.