Zoom Security Settings
Please note that if you prefer to turn off all of the following options for all of your meetings you can do so in your Zoom Settings page
https://zoom.us/profile/setting?tab=meeting. The screenshots below show how to disable the options when you are in a meeting.
Disable students from sharing their screens to the group
When you're in a zoom meeting, you can prevent (or allow) participants from sharing their screens with these three steps:
For detailed info, see: How to manage screen sharing
Disable students from annotating your shared screen
After you share your screen, you can disable students ability to annotate the screen with this setting:
Security options during class
Consider using the "waiting room" feature to admit students into your meeting once you've verified their identities.
Disable video: Turn off a student’s video to block distracting content or inappropriate gestures while class is in session.
Mute students: Mute/unmute individual students or all of them at once. Mute Upon Entry (in your settings) is also available to keep the clamor at bay when everyone files in.
How to remove a participant: If someone who’s not meant to be there somehow manages to join your virtual classroom, you can easily remove them from the Participants menu. Hover over their name, and the Remove option (among other options) will appear. Click to remove them from your virtual classroom, and they won’t be allowed back in.
Control chat access: Teachers can restrict the in-class chat so students cannot privately message other students. We’d recommend controlling chat access in your in-meeting toolbar controls (rather than disabling it altogether) so students can still interact with the teacher as needed.
Prevent students from recording zoom meetings
By default, during a meeting participants may request to record it. However, only teachers should be recording meetings, so you should deny any participant requests for recording. If you would like to disable the feature that allows students to request to record, go to your settings page and uncheck the box, "Hosts can give participants the permission to record locally"
Guidelines for teachers
Teachers may record Zoom sessions, especially those that include instructional content that students may want to refer back to.
Teachers and student support professionals should not record videoconferencing sessions that involve counseling or highly personal content.
At the start of any recorded Zoom session, participants are to be informed by the teacher that the session is being recorded.
Students should not record Zoom sessions. Recording is a choice for teachers when they think the content will be useful to absent students or for review at a later date.
Students with academic accommodations may need recordings in more situations than others.
Zoom recordings should be posted only in secure locations accessible to the participants. The School recommends using one’s SSFS Google Drive account because of file size considerations (with appropriate privacy settings). You can then provide students with a link to these saved recordings. Lower School teachers may use Seesaw as a private way to post recordings.
Zoom invitations should be posted in locations that are only accessible to participants. Do not post Zoom invitations in any location accessible to the general public. All MS and US zoom meeting info should be posted to the class Finalsite calendar. All LS zoom meeting info should go on Seesaw.
Teachers should employ a password for Zoom sessions and the Waiting Room feature. According to Zoom, both are now the default for free educational org accounts.
Teachers should consider from where you are participating in Zoom and other videoconferencing sessions, as these basically place a camera inside your private home. A nondescript background (such as a blank wall) may be preferable to detailed scenes from the home as a general rule. That said, providing students a sense of the personal/personality can be a wonderful thing.
Teachers and students have the option of turning off the camera and participating with audio only, although this can diminish the value of videoconferencing as a way of maintaining social contact at a time when we are all significantly more isolated. It would seem unfair for a teacher to participate via audio only while expecting students to share a video feed, so please think through the balance of trade-offs that come with this tool.
Publicly accessible Zoom meetings should use a "waiting room" to ensure that only expected participants are able to join the meeting.
Video-Conferencing Etiquette for Students
Be courteous to other participants.
Be punctual.
Speak clearly and at a regular volume.
Avoid eating during the sessions.
Keep body movements and distractions, including other noise, to a minimum.
Follow your teachers’ directions about muting mics and asking questions.
“Be Present”—avoid interrupting others, having side conversations and text chats.
Be mindful of your distance from the camera and how you are seen on screen.
Be sure that shades/blinds/curtains/lights behind you are closed to reduce glare.
Be prepared by sitting at a suitable space prepared to work and avoid lounging on beds.
Avoid sitting in places with background noise.
Participants in a video conference (or any other aspect of virtual school) are expected to behave themselves as they would in a normal classroom.
Participants’ images, likenesses, or voices may be recorded while using Zoom, Google Meet, or other platforms. In some cases, such as recording of synchronous teacher-led lessons, these recordings will be made available for student review.
Only faculty are to initiate, record, post, and share class videos or images.
All Zoom settings
See this file for settings that can be helpful. For example, "Allow removed participants to rejoin" in case you give a student a "virtual time-out," this would allow them to rejoin a synchronous session.
Also see
Zoom's Best Practices for Securing Your Virtual Classroom has additional tips. Using Zoom's tips will prevent the "Zoom Hijinks & Hazards" that EdSurge reported on. We've excerpted the most important tips below.