Standard Zoom technical checklist

SSCF’s recommendation is that all meetings with asynchronous, remote/hybrid, and/or recording needs revolve around a laptop, a Meeting Owl, and Zoom, unless circumstances require a custom setup. This combination has been thoroughly tested in a variety of spaces, and in our estimation provides the optimal experience for all involved parties. Setup should take no more than 5 minutes and requires little to no technical skill. All SSCF representatives and some staff will be able to provide dry runs and assist as needed.

Our standard administrative checklist can be found here.

Technical checklist:

Before meeting:

• Necessary equipment:

  • USB-A ("standard USB") connection on laptop -- or adapter -- for Owl

  • Display connection for projection

    1. Typically VGA, HDMI, or USB-C

  • Consult room-specific information (link under construction, see drop-down in the top menu) and contact SSCF with any questions

• Connect the Owl to power, plug in USB to the Owl but not to the laptop yet

• Turn on laptop

  • If presenting slides, prepare projector connection; see room-specific information for more detailed instructions

• Launch Zoom meeting

  • Disable virtual background if you have one

    1. The Owl needs a view of the whole room to focus on speakers, virtual backgrounds impede this view

  • Note: Don't worry if you see that your image is mirrored (handwriting on the whiteboard is backwards), this is ONLY visible to you

    1. Mirroring does NOT need to be disabled for a successful meeting

  • Note: If any audience members in the room are joining the same Zoom call as the presenter, ALL audience members need to mute both their microphone (via Zoom) and speakers (via laptop settings) to avoid echoing/feedback

• Connect the Owl to laptop via USB

  • Switch input devices for microphone, speakers, and camera to Owl in Zoom settings

    1. Look for the upward facing arrow next to mute/unmute button for audio, likewise for the start/stop video button for video

  • If there there are more than three camera options, note the option currently selected before switching to the Owl

    1. This is your default camera

During meeting:

• If you want to record, record through Zoom’s Record function on the main options bar in Zoom

  • If you have instructions from ETS/Canvas for recording, follow those instructions over this checklist

  • If not using ETS/Canvas guidelines, save the video to your computer

  • Zoom's recording notification feature should be enabled for all audience members for privacy compliance reasons. If you have privacy guidelines from another authority, please prioritize those over these instructions.

    • Contact SSCF if you need assistance with this setting

• Present as you would at an in-person meeting, the Owl will capture audio and video for the entire room, and will auto-focus on the person speaking for the folks on Zoom.

• Sharing slides

  • Set projection settings to Duplicate

    • This happens automatically on Mac

    • Press Win+P on Windows and ensure that "Duplicate" (typically the second option) is selected

  • Activate projector if you have not already done so

    • See room-specific information for more detailed instructions

  • Share Screen through Zoom

    • We recommend limiting shared screen to window with slides only to maximize privacy 

      1. If you're unsure which window to select, the first window in the Share Screen options will share everything and works well.

  • Activate Presentation mode for your slides

• Showing the whiteboard

  • Switch video device to default camera

    • If you only have one webcam, this is the only other option besides the Owl

  • Angle the webcam on your laptop such that your writing is displayed clearly

  • Turn off projector to reduce glare

  • We recommend new black markers for maximum visibility

  • Consult room-specific guidelines for light configurations or other information

Ending the meeting

• End Zoom meeting

  • If recording, there may be processing time involved to get the video saved. We recommend leaving the computer powered on and awake until this is complete

• End projection if you connected to the projector

  • Consult room-specific instructions if wrap-up is not obvious

• Disconnect Owl and return it

  • Consult room-specific instructions if you do not already know where to return it

After meeting:

• Processing and distributing video

  • Saved video can be uploaded to Google Drive to circulate if need be

    • If recording minors who are not UCSD students, or any content covering sensitive information (health info, etc) contact SSCF for upload and distribution guidelines

  • Follow guidelines from Canvas/ETS team for uploading to Canvas/instructional resources

• Consult room-specific instructions for any custom wrap-up

• Contact SSCF with any feedback or questions!