Zoom Integration for Canvas

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Zoom is a web conferencing tool that provides remote conferencing services. The Canvas-Zoom integration allows instructors to schedule online meetings from within Canvas and is available in all NIC Canvas courses. Students do not need to sign up for a Zoom account outside of Canvas to use the integration. This guide will walk you through the process for how to use the Zoom integration within Canvas. If you need further assistance with Zoom, please refer to the Zoom tutorials on the eLearning or IT Help Desk websites.

Enabling Zoom

Instructors will need to enable the integration in each course individually. To enable Zoom in a Canvas course:

  1. Click Settings in the course navigation menu.
  2. Click the Navigation tab.
  3. Click the ellipsis icon (3 dots) in the Zoom row and click Enable.
  4. Click Save. Zoom will now appear in the course navigation menu.

Zoom Integration Screen

  1. Time Zone: Change your time zone by clicking on the pencil icon.
  2. All My Zoom Meetings/Recordings: Access all of your Zoom Meetings and Recordings including those that take place outside of Canvas using this link.
  3. Schedule a New Meeting: Schedule a new Zoom meeting inside of your Canvas course using this link.
  4. Import Zoom Meeting: Click the ellipsis icon to import Zoom Meeting links from outside Canvas.
  5. Upcoming Meetings Tab: This tab displays all upcoming Zoom meetings that are scheduled in your course.
  6. Previous Meetings Tab: Displays all previous meetings held within the Canvas course and a link to the Meeting and Poll Reports.
  7. Personal Meeting Room Tab: Displays the instructors Personal Meeting Room information and settings. Students do not have this tab available to them.
  8. Cloud Recordings Tab: Where Cloud Recordings can be accessed and viewed by instructors and students.
  9. Show my course meetings only: Check this box to only display course meetings.
  10. Get Training: Link to Zoom’s Live Training Webinars page.
  11. Meeting Title Link: Clicking on the title of scheduled meetings opens the Manage Meeting page.
  12. Start button: Click this button to begin the meeting.
  13. Delete button: Click this button to delete a meeting.
  14. Navigation buttons: When multiple meetings have been scheduled they will begin to appear on new pages, navigate through these pages using the arrow buttons.

Scheduling a Zoom Meeting in Canvas

  1. Click Zoom from your course navigation menu. (The first time you click on this link, you will have to "authorize" the Zoom app).
  2. In the Zoom integration within Canvas click Schedule a New Meeting.

Zoom Meeting Settings

Fill out the meeting settings (If you have a merged course please make sure to review the merged course section.)

  1. Topic: please use the course's identification -- SP22-EDUC-201-101, for example.  (Semester-Course Prefix-Course Number-Section Number).
  2. Description (optional): enter a description of your meeting
  3. When: date and time of the meeting
  4. Duration: total amount of time the meeting will run for (you can enter early and go over the duration that you initially set)
  5. Time Zone: select the time zone (default is Pacific Time); if it is a recurring meeting, check the box “Recurring meeting” below the time zone dropdown menu
  6. Registration: only required if you are inviting people outside of your course (which is NOT recommended)
  7. Video: check on or off to allow the host or participants to use a webcam in the meeting (for merged courses and recorded meetings it is recommended to select OFF for participants)
  8. Audio: select how participants will connect to audio (choosing BOTH is recommended)
  9. Meeting Options:
    1. Require meeting password: Recommended for all meetings
    2. Enable join before host: Not recommended
    3. Mute participants upon entry: Recommended for all meetings
    4. Use Personal Meeting ID: Not recommended
    5. Enable waiting room: Recommended for all meetings
    6. Only authenticated users can join: Not recommended (all students are already authenticated via Canvas sign-in, checking this would require them to sign in to Zoom)
    7. Record the meeting automatically: Not recommended
  10. Alternative Hosts: enter the email addresses of alternative hosts (someone who could run the meeting for you if you were ill for example)
  11. Save (The meeting will automatically save to the course calendar and the student to-do list.)

Note: If the “Record the meeting automatically” option is enabled, the recording will begin immediately upon the meeting start time. This will occur regardless if the host has entered the meeting or not.

Zoom Resources

Once the Zoom Meeting has started, all settings within the Meeting Space itself are the same as any Zoom meeting inside or outside of Canvas.

For the most up to date information and in depth look at all Zoom settings, controls, troubleshooting, and training please, visit the Zoom Help Center.

For information on Zoom security and the Zoom Outlook client, the NIC IT Help Desk also maintains an in-depth Zoom Manual that can be accessed in the MyNIC portal.

Zoom Cloud Recordings

When Zoom Meetings are recorded to the Cloud, separate files are created for video, audio, and screen sharing, as well as one file with all combined. Students only have access to the combined file.

To access Cloud Recording files:

  1. Click on the Cloud Recordings Tab on the Zoom Canvas Integration page.
  2. Click on the title of a recording to access the files associated with that recording.

Sharing Cloud Recordings with Students

When a Zoom Meeting is recorded to the Cloud a password is automatically assigned to the recording. Instructors will need to provide students with the password.

Instructors will receive an email with a link to the recording AND the password to that recording. Instructors can copy and paste this information into an email to students to share the password.

-or-

All of the files associated with the recording will also be available on the Cloud Recording Tab with a Share button located beneath the recording. When the Share button is clicked a pop-up will appear with the link to the recording and the password. Clicking Copy on this pop-up will copy that information to the Clipboard which can then be pasted into an Announcement or Email.

Zoom Settings for Merged Courses

FERPA law protects student privacy including information that may be given over Zoom such as the student’s name. Normally, the student’s name would fall under “directory information” which is fine to give out. In a merged Canvas course however, the student’s name is tied to their Student ID and would also reveal or elude to which section they are in which is NOT covered under “directory information”. Therefore, holding a Zoom meeting in a merged course with ALL of your students is NOT FERPA compliant.

It is possible to separate Zoom meetings into sections using the More Options on the Calendar.

This process will start the same as mentioned earlier in this document by creating one Zoom meeting then, there will be some additional steps as outline below.

  1. Follow the instructions for scheduling a Zoom meeting in the Canvas Integration on pages 3-6 of this document, IN ADDITION follow these steps:
  2. Click the Course Calendar (or the Global Calendar) link located on the course Home page.
  3. On the Calendar, locate the meeting you just created and click on it.
  4. A pop-up will appear, click Edit.
  5. A pop-up will appear, click More Options.
  6. A new screen will appear. Check the box to “Use a different date for each section” and enter either a different date and/or time for each section in your course. (The meetings can be on the same day at a different time.)
  7. Click Update Event.

This process will create 2 (or more depending on how many sections are in the course) separate sessions with individual links for each section. It will also automatically place the students in the appropriate session. Students from Section 1 will NOT be able to join the session for Section 2 and vice versa. Students will only see their sections link on their calendar and to-do lists and will not see the other sections link. Make sure that these links are NOT shared in an all course announcement or email to all students in order to keep them secure.

Cloud Recordings for Separate Sections

If the process above was used to create separate sessions for each section AND each session was recorded to the Cloud, a separate recording will be available for each session. Instructors should take precaution to share the correct password associated with the session to the appropriate course section.

In other words,do not share the password for the Course Section A recording to the students in Course Section B!

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