If you have updated your Zoom desktop app recently, you may notice some exciting changes to the meeting experience! The new interface, now called Zoom Workplace, has customizable options and enhanced features. Read on for 5 tips to use Zoom’s new features to make your meetings more productive and enjoyable.
NOTE: If you are using an older version of Zoom (anything before 6.0), you can visit the Zoom Download Center to update. Installing Zoom may require administrative privileges on your device. Please contact your local Penn State IT department to assist if necessary.
1: Customize your Zoom appearance.
The first thing you may notice after you update Zoom is a refreshed look. It includes new icons and the ability to arrange them in the toolbar with a simple click, drag, and drop. If you find yourself using the “More” icon often to get to a feature that isn’t showing in your toolbar, you can simply drag it to the main toolbar for easier access. You can also drag unused tools and drop them in “More” menu. There is no lost functionality between older versions of Zoom and 6.0, but some names of tools have changed. “Security” is now called “Host Tools,” and “Reactions” has been simplified to “React.
You can also choose a new color theme for your Zoom app by going to your settings from the app home or within a meeting. Available color schemes include Classic (black or white), Bloom (blue), Agave (green), and Rose (red). Your theme will appear as a background across all meetings and an accent color in your Zoom app.
The updated Zoom toolbar.
2: Share screens simultaneously.
In prior versions of Zoom, only one person could share their screen at a time during a meeting. Now hosts can allow multiple participants to share their screens simultaneously. This is incredibly useful for meeting participants to compare materials in real time or share related information without going through the time-consuming process of stopping and starting screen sharing multiple times within a meeting as different participants present.
Depending on participants’ monitor setup in the Zoom app, they will either see the two most recently shared screens (dual monitor setting) or have the ability to toggle between shared screens (default setting).
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3: Use new apps to improve your meeting experience.
Zoom apps integrate useful features into the Zoom experience beyond what you get from the standard toolbar. Two apps which are new for users at Penn State are the Music and Timer apps. The Music app allows you to set a mood with background music in your meetings, with genres ranging from meditative to high-energy. Consider using music briefly to welcome participants to a presentation or turn it on during a brainstorming session to stimulate your team’s creativity. The Timer app is a standard timer that you can use to time meetings or activities. Both can be accessed from the “Apps” icon in your Zoom toolbar. If you don’t see “Apps” in your toolbar, check the “More” icon and refer to Tip #1 to drag it out where you can get to it easily!
4: Highlight more than one speaker with multi-speaker view.
Multi-speaker view is a great tool you can use to follow along and engage better with discussions in larger meetings. It is available in meetings with more than 5 participants, and you can activate it in the “View” options at the top of the meeting window. When multi-speaker view is on, the layout highlights the most recent speakers by enlarging their video tiles and showing other participants’ tiles in a smaller gallery.
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5: Try out dynamic reactions.
In addition to the standard emojis found in the “React” panel, there is now an option, called “send with effect,” to send a dynamic emoji reaction that causes emojis to appear and float around your video tile. You can only react with animation when you have video turned on. These reactions can be fun, but also functional. You can use them to express agreement or other feelings to participants in a meeting without needing to unmute.
The updated React panel.