One of the most popular video conferencing tools in the world. A basic account includes the all the standard conferencing tools - chat, whiteboard, reactions, polls, breakout rooms, recording and AI features, Webinar platforms available with a paid plan.
Mobile App- Yes
Participants and Instructors can switch views between speaker and gallery, spotlight or pin participants,
Ability to share screen with presentation tools or annotate right on the screen.
Schedule recurring meeting that use the same link.
Create templates for recurring meetings or classes that include poll questions or shared whiteboards
Zoom was founded in 2011 by a former employee of Cisco Webex. The COVID-19 pandemic increased demand by 30x and it is now the most popular video conferencing platform in use.
An ideal tool for virtual instructor led training
Encourage integration and collaboration with shared chat and whiteboard before, during and after the classes
Create polls ahead of time, or on the fly to check knowledge or gather opinions
Add live annotation on the screen while presenting - use tools like the laser pointer to call attention to important parts of the slides, or have participants use tools like the stamps or pointers to mark areas and show their opinion
Breakout rooms for group work - Instructors can visit the rooms to check on the work during the meeting.
Requires a download of the Zoom app for participants, can be a firewall problem in certain organizations. The features available may be dependent on the version of the users. No convinient place to post training handouts besides dropping in the chat, which participants may not be able to see if they join late.
The basic interface is easy to use for joining and facilitating meetings. On mobile devices, users may struggle with the finding disappearing toolbar which hides itself if you're not touching the screen to maximize screen space. Multiple screen sharing can get confusing. Zoom frequently updates and changes features, and participants may have different experiences if they have not updated the app.
Zoom offers a Knowledge base, Learning Center, Blog, Resource library, How-to Videos and a customer Success Hub with live and recorded training/information events. A chatbot can help with basic issues, and higher level support can be requested by phone or email. The Community can also be a place to find answers from other users.
Free version includes ability to host meetings up to 40 minutes with up to 100 participants; 3 whiteboards, unlimited document creation, but limited sharing; access to mail and calendar client. Pro plans started at 13.33 / month (annually) Business plans start at 18.32 / month (annually).
Teams, Go to Webinar, Adobe Connect, Cisco WebEx