eLearning Blog

Tag: Zoom

Share your presentation as a virtual background in Zoom

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Do you typically use Powerpoint slides to present to your audience during a Zoom meeting? Do you know that Zoom now allows you to make the slide presentation more engaging by imposing you video directly onto your screenshare?!

This feature is available on any Zoom Desktop Client for Windows or Mac using a version 5.2.0 or higher. As I write this blog, our institution is on version 5.6.4, so if you are working from an on-domain computer you should have access to this feature. If you are working from a personal computer, you may want to check for updates to your Zoom client to be sure you are using the latest version available.

Sharing a presentation as the background

Once you have your Powerpoint slides created and have started your Zoom meeting, you will want to select the ‘Share Screen‘ button on your meeting controls. Select ‘Advanced‘ at the top of the screen and then you should see an option to ‘Select Slides as Virtual Background‘.

Advanced setting Options

Now you can simply browse and open your Powerpoint Slide presentation file. If your video is ‘on’ by default in the Zoom meeting, your video will automatically be imposed on your screen share. You will see a toggle feature at the top of your meeting controls that will allow you to advance through your slides.

Recording the presentation

So, how will this look if you typically record your Zoom meetings? If you record the meeting locally and are on a Zoom client version 5.2.0 or higher, the video will be embedded on the slides in the recording. If you record to the cloud, the recording will capture the slides and video as a normal screen share recording.

Additional items to consider

  • Sounds, transitions and animations within slides are not supported.
  • If a participant joining the Zoom meeting is on a version below 5.2.0, the presentation will appear as a normal screen share of slides with the presenter video separate.
  • For full details about this Zoom feature, please reference this Zoom support article.

If you have further questions about Zoom meetings or any of our other institution-supported educational technology, please feel free to email us at elearning@mtu.edu

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Zoom Features to Support Student Access

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If you have been teaching in the past year you have likely spent time (too much maybe?) using Zoom. Two important new features have been released for all Michigan Tech Zoom accounts over the last few months that help support access to your Zoom recordings for all your students. Most recently, live transcription was enabled just in time for Spring semester courses. Previously, an audio transcription feature was added that generates transcripts from completed Zoom recordings. Read on for more details.

Zoom toolbar with live transcript feature highlighted
Zoom live transcript button

Zoom Live Transcription

When conducting a Zoom meeting you now have the option to click the “Live Transcript” button in the Zoom toolbar to enable live auto-transcription in your meeting. Once complete all attendees will see the live auto-generated transcript appear at the bottom of the Zoom screen with options to adjust the size of the transcript text or turn the feature off. If enabled by the meeting host, the live transcript file can also be downloaded by attendees.

Zoom enable auto-transcription button for the live transcript feature
enable the live transcript feature

Zoom Audio Transcripts

In addition to the new live transcription feature, meeting hosts can also have Zoom auto-transcribe completed cloud recordings to obtain audio transcripts. This feature has been available for the past year. It’s great if you use Zoom to pre-record presentations, or when you don’t want to use the live transcript feature. Once you end your cloud recording meeting, Zoom begins the auto-transcribe process and adds the audio transcript file to the cloud recording list in your Zoom account. One added benefit of this feature is that the audio transcript will automatically transfer with the Zoom recording into a designated Huskycast course folder and be available to students from the closed caption (cc) button in the player. This transfer to Huskycast only works if you have requested the Panopto-Huskycast/Zoom integration and are using recurring cloud recordings.

Who Benefits from Transcripts and Captions?

Many people can benefit from having a transcript of class sessions available including the following scenarios:

  • Deaf or hard of hearing viewers
  • Viewers who know English as a second language
  • When content includes new and unfamiliar jargon
  • Consuming content in loud or very quiet environments where regular audio playback is not feasible
  • Can help with concentration for viewers with certain learning disabilities or attention deficits

Remember that automated transcription tools like those available in Zoom are not fully accurate and should not be considered fully compliant solutions for students with formal accommodations for closed captions or transcripts to support their learning needs.

Resources

Zoom Live Transcription Feature
Using Audio Transcription with Zoom Cloud Recordings
Using the Panopto-Huksycast/Zoom Integration

Need Help?

Contact the elearning support team in the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning if you have questions about Canvas, Huskycast, Zoom or other educational technology tools.

elearning@mtu.edu | 487-3000

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