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Summary
Zoom is a video conferencing platform available to all UTHSC faculty, staff, and students. It supports high‑quality real‑time interaction from computers and mobile devices and allows presenters to share content such as PowerPoint presentations during meetings.
Zoom is one of UTHSC's official web conferencing applications for university‑related business and courses. Microsoft Teams is the other official platform.
Prerequisites
- UTHSC faculty, staff, or student status
- A Zoom account provisioned through UTHSC
- A computer or mobile device with internet access
- Optional: Zoom Pro account features provided by the university
Instructions
Zoom Features
- Breakout Rooms
- Reactions
- Screen sharing
- Polling
- Annotation tools — when enabled, participants can draw, type, or stamp on a shared screen or whiteboard.
- In‑meeting chat
- Nonverbal feedback
- Virtual backgrounds
Zoom System Requirements
Zoom provides system requirement guidelines to ensure optimal performance. Refer to Zoom’s official documentation for supported operating systems, hardware, and bandwidth recommendations.
Best Practices: Do Not Share Zoom Links Publicly
Posting Zoom links in public places such as the Daily Digest, Twitter, or Facebook can allow uninvited individuals to join and disrupt your sessions.
To prevent this:
- Do not post Zoom links on social media or public websites.
- Instead, provide an email address or form where participants can request the meeting link.
- Act as a gatekeeper to control who receives access.
Zoom also uses automated systems to detect publicly posted meeting links. If one is found, the UTK OIT office may contact you. For more information, refer to Zoom’s blog post "How to Keep Uninvited Guests Out of Your Zoom Event."
Troubleshooting
- If participants cannot join, verify that the meeting link was shared privately and not posted publicly.
- Confirm that your device meets the Zoom System Requirements.
- Check that annotation, breakout rooms, or other features are enabled in your Zoom settings if they are not appearing.
- Ensure you are signed in with your UTHSC Zoom account to access Pro features.
Additional Notes
- Zoom is approved for UTHSC‑related business and academic use.
- Virtual backgrounds may require specific hardware capabilities.
- Annotation tools must be enabled by the meeting host.
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