Zoom Web Conferencing

At Canisius University, we use Zoom for Web Conferencing, including virtual classroom sessions, committee meetings, and conference calls.

Below, you will see information and tutorials helpful, whether you are

The Center for Online Learning & Innovation maintains self-paced training resources, conducts workshops and one-on-one consultations for faculty & staff, and in general supports use of Zoom at Canisius University.

Faculty and Staff may receive a Zoom pro account in the Canisius University license for University work. We have a limited number of these, so students are ineligible to have Zoom pro accounts in the Canisius University License. However, faculty, staff, and students can use Google Meet or Microsoft Teams as well.

Participate in a Zoom Meeting or Webinar Hosted by Someone Else

Received an email invitation to join a Zoom meeting? If so, you do not need a Zoom account. In one way or another, your meeting host will supply you with a web link (URL) that, at the time of the meeting, you click to join.

Look for the link you need to click to join the meeting:

To join a Zoom meeting you should have a PC or mobile device, with internal or attached microphone and speakers. A webcam is helpful, too.

Often, a Zoom meeting also allows you to join via telephone, and includes instructions for that, too.

Very likely, when you join the meeting the Zoom app will ask you if you'd like to use your computer/pc/laptop audio. Under most circumstances, that is what you want to do. Before joining a meeting, though, watch this video so you'll know other ways to properly connect and configure your microphone and speakers:

Getting ready for a Zoom Meeting on a PC or laptop? Download the Desktop App here.

Update your Zoom app frequently, since this ensures features are compatible with other internet services, including security. If your Zoom app gets too old, and it instructs you to contact a Zoom administrator to update it, you can quickly delete and reinstall it on your own. Learn how to keep Zoom automatically up to date here.

If you are using a mobile device, find the Zoom app in your appropriate app store.

When you join a Zoom meeting or webinar on your Windows or Mac computer from an email invitation, you will be using a small piece of software from Zoom. If you do not have this on your computer or mobile device already, you will be prompted to download it after clicking the link in the email invitation. It's a quick download, but if you'd like to download the app beforehand, just to save time and be better prepared, you can do so.

An overview of Zoom settings can be found here.

If you are participating in a meeting, but are not hosting it, you do not need to sign up for a Zoom account within the Canisius University license.

Host a Zoom Meeting or Webinar

Canisius University pays for a Zoom license that grants faculty and staff at the University a Pro account. This is useful if you must conduct meetings over 40 minutes, or have more options to record them. If you do not have a Pro Zoom account, contact the Canisius University Help Desk (helpdesk@canisius.edu) to request one. Allow several business days for this account to be created.

Also note, due to a limited amount of licenses, Zoom Pro accounts are only available for faculty and staff. Pro accounts for students are unavailable. There are no exceptions. As an alternative, students can use Google Meet. While not as robust, Google Meet does allow students to record and share screens.

Log into your Zoom account

If you are scheduling through a browser:

Make certain you are logged out of any existing Zoom account in your browser.
Login at https://canisius.zoom.us/ with your Canisius credentials.

If you are scheduling through, or otherwise logging into the desktop app:

Log in using "Sign in with SSO," and your Canisius credentials. (the company domain is canisius.zoom.us.)
- Step-by-step tutorial
Do not log in using Google.

Your Participants Off-Campus

If you are web conferencing with colleagues or clients off-campus, you can send them the link to this page so they can review the above instructions for joining a meeting: Zoom for Web Conferencing.

If your off-campus correspondents are unfamiliar with managing speakers or microphones on their computer, we recommend using the Telephone Option.

Scheduling a Zoom Meeting

This video shows you how to schedule a meeting through the Zoom website (canisius.zoom.us.) after logging in there. But the downloadable Zoom App for PC and Laptops, as well as the mobile app, also allow fast and easy meeting scheduling. If you use Outlook on your computer, and would like to send the invitation to participants via your email account that's in Outlook, you may choose that as your invitation option, and Zoom will have Outlook create a calendar event and invitation. If you'd like to send an invitation through your Canisius faculty/staff email via Outlook web application, another email address, or do not wish to create a calendar event, simply choose the option to copy the invitation to your clipboard, and paste it where appropriate.

Schedule using the Zoom Website

Schedule using the Desktop App (very similar to mobile app)

Other Useful Zoom Features and Tutorials

The following videos will show you how to use other useful Zoom tools that will make your Zoom meetings more interesting and/or useful/interactive.

Using Zoom Breakout Rooms (Automatically and Manually)

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Using Virtual Backgrounds in Zoom

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Embedding Zoom Meeting Invitations into D2L

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Using Polls in Zoom

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