Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Accommodations & Closed Captions

Q. Is closed captioning and other accommodations available for class sessions or other events?

A. Requests of this nature are handled by Disability & Access Services: www.bu.edu/disability – access@bu.edu – 617-353-3658

Captioning: Captioning provides broad access for many individuals with and without disabilities, especially in the remote or digital environment. DAS strongly suggests all asynchronous digital media (videos, movies, events) be proactively captioned through MyMedia (http://www.bu.edu/tech/services/teaching/instructional-video/my-media/my-media-faqs/mymedia-captions-transcripts/k). All streamed and outward facing digital media must be captioned. Live captioning of events and post-production captioning of media is provided by DAS only when there are identified consumers who require communication access or where it has been discussed and arranged in advance.  Please note that DAS is not responsible for access to all University events and that last minute requests cannot be guaranteed.

Individual Accommodations: Please note that individual accommodations must be requested in advance. To facilitate this, your events should have an access statement which clearly identifies the event organizer as the main contact. Be prepared to provide details about the specific event (including name of event, date, time and location) as well as the requester’s name, contact information, nature of disability and specific request(s).  Please note that DAS is not responsible for access to all University events and that last minute requests cannot be guaranteed. Please feel free to contact them in advance to discuss your event.

Zoom FAQs

Q. How should I login to my BU Zoom account?

A. Make sure you have activated your BU Zoom account by going to bostonu.zoom.us and logging in with your BU Kerberos account. When using the Zoom desktop application, select ‘Sign in with SSO’ (single-sign on) and enter ‘bostonu’ as the domain. After entering in your BU account information, you should be properly authenticated and logged into Zoom.

Q. Does my Zoom meeting have to have a password? What about a Waiting Room?

A. All meetings scheduled on or after July 5th, 2020 will require a password. Currently, passwords are enabled by default, but not required. As you schedule meetings this month, please ensure that they are password protected. This will be especially important for recurring meetings.

Existing scheduled meetings will not be affected; however, you are strongly encouraged to password protect them. For more information on securing existing meetings, please see Securing Your Meetings on TechWeb. Starting July 19th 2020, Zoom will enable Waiting Rooms on any meetings without password protection.

All instant meetings started with the “New Meeting” button in the Zoom app or the “Host a Meeting” option on the Zoom website will be password protected. Participants can be invited or sent the one-click URL once the meeting starts, just as before. This change will not affect instant meetings that use your Personal Meeting ID (PMI); your PMI security settings will still be honored.

Q. How can I share my screen in a Zoom meeting?

A. In a meeting, select ‘Share Screen’ from the Zoom menu. Check the ‘Share computer sound’ checkbox in the bottom left corner before selecting ‘Share’ to enable participants to hear your computer’s audio (if you would like to play a video or audio file for meeting participants). You can choose to share a specific application window, but it is recommended to share the entire Desktop View to keep screen sharing visible when closing or rearranging application windows.

Q. How do I share a Zoom recording?

A. When you initiate a recording, either when scheduling or during a meeting, you have two options: Record on this Computer or Record to the Cloud. If you record to your computer, you have the ability to upload that recording to one of BU’s officially licensed video sharing platforms, such as Kaltura MyMedia or Echo360. Once uploaded, you can share the URL to the video file or embed it into a Blackboard course.

This Quick Help Video and Google Doc cover the workflow for uploading a recorded Zoom meeting into Kaltura and then sharing with a Blackboard course.

Recording to the Cloud saves the recording into your Zoom account. Log into bostonu.zoom.us, select Recordings on the left and choose ‘Share….’  This BU Tech Web article outlines the process and required settings for sharing a Zoom Cloud Recording.

Q. Can guests be added as co-host or alternative hosts when creating a Zoom meeting?

A. No. If the guests don’t have a Zoom account they cannot be added as a co-host nor alternative hosts.

Q. Can I make my guest a co-host or a host during a Zoom Meeting?

A. During a Meeting, the Host can go to “Participants” and click “More” next to the guest to make them a Co-host or Host.

Q. How do I use the Zoom Annotation and Whiteboard features?

A. These features are available for hosts & participants when using Share Screen during a Zoom meeting. More information is available in PDFs on the Annotation and Whiteboard tools, as well as this this tutorial video.

Q. How do I create and use Zoom Breakout Rooms?

A. Check out these pages from Zoom on Enabling Breakout Rooms and Managing Breakout Rooms as a Host.

Q. Can I pre-assign participants for Zoom Breakout Rooms?

A. You can pre-assign up to 200 breakout room participants in advance if they have previously activated their Zoom account at bostonu.zoom.us. As the Host, you schedule the meeting through the online BU portal (not the Zoom app) and upload a .CSV file that has been formatted correctly. This Zoom support article contains detailed instructions.

Co-hosts also cannot start a meeting. If a Host needs someone else to be able to start the meeting, they can assign an Alternative Host.

Q. Can I be in two Zoom meetings at the same time?

A. You cannot Host two meetings simultaneously, but it is possible to join multiple meetings as a Participant

Prerequisites:
  • Zoom Desktop Client for Windows – 4.1.27348.0625 or later
  • Zoom Desktop Client for Mac -4.4.522551.0414 or later
  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation panel, click Settings.
  3. Click the Meeting tab.
  4. Under In Meeting (Basic), verify that the setting is enabled to Join different meetings simultaneously on desktop.
  5. If the setting is disabled, click the Status toggle to enable it. If a verification dialog displays, choose Turn On to verify the change.

To join multiple meetings simultaneously, you can join the first meeting by:

  • Click the Join button in the Zoom desktop client
  • Click the join URL OR
  • Navigate to https://zoom.us/join and enter the meeting ID.
    • Note: For each additional meeting you want to join, you will need to navigate to the join URL in your browser and the Zoom client will automatically launch the meeting.

Q. What is the difference between a Zoom Host and Co-Host?

A. Co-hosts do not have access to the following controls as they are only available as Host controls in a meeting:

  • Start closed captioning and assign someone or a third-party to provide closed captioning
  • Start live streaming
  • End meeting for all participants
  • Make another participant a Co-host
  • Start breakout rooms or move participants from one breakout room to another
  • Start waiting room (Co-hosts can place participants in waiting room or admit/remove participants from the waiting room)

Q. How do I take attendance after a Zoom meeting?

A. This PDF document has information on viewing a Zoom Usage Report, which is available through the online BU Zoom portal.