Deal with Zoom Disruptions in One or Two Clicks

By now you may have hosted one or more Zoom meetings with students. The Zoom Video Conferencing in Barrington 220 guide offers several security and preventative suggestions and methods to limit potential disruptions.

We have heard from some teachers reporting that, despite following security recommendations, some students have still been able to disrupt a class. As veteran educators know, some students like to push boundaries—especially when a student believes they are anonymous.

One issue we have heard is that while a class is full of students who were legitimately admitted to the meeting, disruptions still occurred. While many explanations are possible, it is relatively easy for a student in your class to use a second device, enter another (expected) student’s name, get admitted to the class by the teacher, and then proceed with disruptions.

As a teacher, you have several one- or two-click options to deal with disruptions.

• In Gallery View, click on a student and use the pop-up menu immediately to Mute Audio, Stop Video, or Remove the participant from the meeting.
• By clicking Participants, a list of all participants will show throughout the Zoom meeting. Next to each name, you can click Mute in one click. (A second click to the More menu allows Stop Video, Remove, and other options).
• Also notice that at the bottom of the Participants list, you have a one-click Mute All option.
• To stop unwanted cat, with the Chat panel open (click the Chat button), click the [...] symbol in the lower-right corner and select No one from the from the pop-up menu under Participant Can Chat With:

Although this article promises one- or two-click solutions, I will include one setting that requires three clicks to limit unwanted Screen Sharing.

• Click the carat ^ next to Screen Sharing and select Advanced Sharing Options… 
• Click Only Host under Who can share?

While disruptions are annoying, we believe that the potential benefits offered by Zoom outweigh the potential problems. As we become more familiar with the Zoom platform, hopefully disruptions will both become less of a novelty and easier for us as teachers to address in the moment.

In Gallery View, click on a student and use the pop-up menu immediately to Mute Audio, Stop Video, or Remove the participant from the meeting