iMedEd Release Notes 10.16.20

Teach Anywhere Spotlight: New Features in Zoom

Zoom has been busy responding to its massive increase in usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past few months, there have been several new updates to the Zoom application that address some common feature requests and overall improvement of the video conferencing experience.

Some notable recent feature enhancements include the following:
(Source: Zoom.com)

  • Enhanced scheduling with default settings
    • Scheduling a new meeting will always check the user’s web settings and use those as the default. Any changes from the default will be saved for that meeting only.
  • Self-Select Breakout Room
    • The host can now create Breakout Rooms with the option for participants to self-select which Breakout Room they would like to join. If enabled, participants can move freely between Breakout Rooms, without needing the host’s help. Both the meeting host and participants need to be on Client 5.3.0 or later to self-select Breakout Rooms.
  • Custom Gallery View organization
    • The Host and co-host can now re-order the Gallery View to suit their needs, and choose whether to deploy this view to participants, or allow participants to create their own custom views. Simply click and drag videos to the position you want them in Gallery View, and this layout will remain in place until released.
  • Multi-pin and multi-spotlight
    • With host permission, users will now be able to pin up to nine participants on their end. The host can also spotlight up to nine participants for everyone in the meeting.
  • Share PowerPoint as Virtual Background in Beta
    • Users can select a PowerPoint file to use as their Virtual Background and move through the slides with the left and right arrows. This option is under Share Screen in the Advanced options. It is currently a beta feature.
  • Adjust video brightness
    • Users can choose to adjust the brightness of their video automatically or manually with a slider in their video settings. This feature is useful in low-light environments.
  • Improved background noise suppression
    • Users can adjust the background noise suppression applied, choosing to enable Low, Medium, High, or Automatic background noise suppression.

(There are also fun new video filters that can help combat Zoom fatigue when needed!)

For further information on Zoom updates, the ongoing list of updates can be found on the Zoom support website:

Leave a Reply