Zoom

About Zoom

Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing platform that allows users to host online meetings, participate in group messaging, and share video and audio content. Zoom works on desktop, laptop and mobile operating systems.

Accessing Zoom

Attending a Zoom meeting? Simply click the link provided to you via email or calendar invite.

Nursing faculty, students and staff: Zoom accounts are available to the Nursing community. Nursing users may follow the instructions below to activate their account:

To create your Zoom account using a web browser:

Navigate to https://upenn.zoom.us/
Click Sign in, then log in with your PennKey and password
If prompted, verify your identity with Two-Step Verification
Return to https://upenn.zoom.us/ and log in with your PennKey and password whenever you need to access your Zoom account.

To create your Zoom account using a Zoom app on your computer or device:

Download and install the Zoom desktop or mobile app
Open the app and click Sign In with SSO
Enter upenn as the company domain
When prompted, sign in with your PennKey and password.

That’s it! You’re ready to start using Zoom!

Quick Start Guide

Scheduling and Hosting Meetings

Zoom meetings are limited to 300 participants. View Zoom tutorials to learn how to schedule a remote class meeting with students and review the controls you have access to as the meeting host.

Zoom Meeting Roles

Sharing meeting responsibilities with colleagues or co-course instructors? Need someone to schedule meetings on your behalf? Review Zoom meeting roles to learn about co-host, alternate host, and scheduling privilege settings.

Meeting Security

Consider enabling settings that prevent uninvited guests from joining your Zoom sessions (also known as Zoombombing).

Storing Zoom Recordings

Zoom is primarily a communications platform, and is not intended for long-term storage of meeting recordings. Follow these steps from Penn CTL to move Zoom recordings to a secure, longer-term storage solution.

Course-related recordings should be moved to Panopto, while meeting- or conference-specific recordings should be moved to either a Penn-supported storage platform like Penn+Box or OneDrive, or to a public platform like YouTube or Vimeo, depending on the intended audience for the recording.

Note: Recordings stored in PennZoom that are older than 120 days are deleted from Zoom’s cloud storage. As recordings reach 121 days of age, they will be automatically moved to your trash bin. Once a recording is in your trash bin, you have 30 days to retrieve it for personal storage.
PennZoom class recordings initiated from within Canvas automatically move into Panopto for long-term storage. Learn more about the Zoom integration for Canvas.

Download the Zoom App

To get started, all users are encouraged to download the free Zoom app, which has more features than the browser version.

Download Zoom

Zoom Features

Up to 300 active users
Record and share meetings
Video and screen sharing
In-meeting chat

How Can I Use Zoom?

Synchronous online group discussions
Online class breakout sessions
Recording live in-person classes

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What’s my Zoom user ID?

Although users of Penn’s central Zoom service will use their PennKey and password to create a Zoom account, once you’re signed into Zoom, your user ID and Zoom email will be PennKey@upenn.edu.

How do I find other Zoom users in the central Penn Zoom Service?

In order to contact or invite other Penn Zoom users to meetings, you will need to use their Zoom user ID, which will also be in the format of PennKey@upenn.edu.

You will also need to use PennKey@upenn.edu to access other collaborative features, such as inviting other Zoom users to serve as alternative hosts, granting scheduling privileges or pre-assigning Zoom users to breakout rooms.

Why can’t I find a user in the central Penn Zoom Service?

Zoom has been implemented in different ways across the University, and not all schools and centers have joined Penn’s central Zoom service. Users in schools and centers that have not yet moved to the central Zoom service will not be “findable” in https://upenn.zoom.us/.

You will be able to invite these users to meetings by using their email address. However, you will not be able to use many of Zoom’s collaborative features.

Is there a Canvas integration for Zoom?

The Canvas integration for Zoom is available in Penn’s Canvas environment. View instructions for using Zoom in your Canvas course, as well as other course-related Zoom considerations, in the Zoom guide from the Penn Libraries.

Is Zoom right for my online course?

Penn’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has created a helpful guide to using Zoom for online course synchronous sessions. For specific questions about using Zoom in your course, contact the Nursing ITS Service Desk at servicedesk@nursing.upenn.edu.

How do I add alternative hosts to my Zoom meeting?

To designate an alternative host in your meeting, refer to the instructions provided in Zoom’s help guide.

Using Zoom in Canvas? When you schedule Zoom meetings through the Canvas integration, co-teachers and teaching assistants are automatically added as Alternative Hosts. This means that any teacher or TA can start and host the meeting.

Other alternative hosts must be added to your meeting by visiting https://upenn.zoom.us/.

What is Zoombombing, and how do I prevent it?

One of the easiest ways to keep your sessions secure is to not post Zoom links publicly or where they can be accessed by people outside the Penn community. For all Penn-related Zoom meetings, including class sessions, you should use your Penn sponsored Zoom account. If you have not already created your Penn Zoom account, view instructions above under Accessing Zoom. Penn ISC offers additional recommendations on how to protect your Zoom sessions.

If an uninvited guest is trying to access your meeting, please alert the Nursing ITS Service Desk at servicedesk@nursing.upenn.edu.

Why do I need to move my recordings from Zoom’s cloud storage? Can exceptions be made?

PennZoom provides eligible faculty, staff, and students with a variety of tools for managing meetings, lectures, webinars, and more. Chief among these tools is the ability to record meetings. While PennZoom is able to temporarily store your recordings, Zoom is primarily a communication tool and not a storage tool.

It is important that recordings intended to be stored long-term be moved from Zoom to a permanent, secure storage location. Learn more about Zoom recording storage and management.

What are my options for storing my Zoom recordings?

Penn ISC has provided recommendations for storing Zoom recordings created by Penn faculty, staff and students. Please note: Course-related recordings initiated from within Canvas are placed in Canvas/Panopto automatically. View other recommendations here.

How do I retrieve a recording that was moved to my trash bin?

View instructions for recovering a recording from your trash bin. Once a recording is in your trash bin, you have 30 days to retrieve it for personal storage.

How does the Penn Zoom cloud storage policy impact my course?

PennZoom classroom recordings initiated from within Canvas will automatically be moved into Panopto for long-term storage. Classroom recordings initiated directly from Zoom can be manually imported into Panopto for long-term storage. View instructions for manually importing previously scheduled Zoom meetings into Panopto.

Learn More About Zoom

Need more help? Visit the Zoom Help Center or e-mail the Service Desk at servicedesk@nursing.upenn.edu .

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