Zoom
Meet online with Zoom, a video conferencing tool. Set up virtual meetings and webinars. Connect through audio, video and chat.
Key features
- Host: host hundreds of participants through audio, video and chat. Participants don’t need an account to join a meeting, making it easy to collaborate with people outside the University.
- Schedule: set up meetings via Google Calendar, the Zoom app or website.
- Private: set up password controls for meetings, personal meeting rooms and unique meeting IDs.
- Screen share: share your desktop, application windows, or specific files with meeting participants.
- Chat: real-time messaging during meetings and private group chats.
- Collaboration tools: assign breakout rooms, share group polls, and co-annotate shared screens for interactive collaboration.
- Digital whiteboards: create a collaborative whiteboard during your meeting or privately via the app. Access templates, formatting options (sticky notes, shapes, text, comments) and share/download it when you're finished.
- Record: record locally or to the cloud, and auto-generate searchable transcripts.
- Virtual backgrounds: customise your background during video calls to enhance privacy or add a professional look.
Access instructions
Sign in with your York username and password to create your Zoom account. Duo two-factor authentication is required.
For the best experience, we recommend using the Zoom app.
- On University managed devices, you can install the app from the Software Center (Windows) and Self Service (Mac).
- For other devices, download and install the app from Zoom Download Center (zoom.us).
- Once installed, open the app and sign in with SSO. If prompted, enter york-ac-uk as the company domain. A browser will open and then you can sign in as normal.
Additional information
Meetings and webinars: what's the difference?
- Meetings are best for hosting interactive sessions, where you want to have group discussions, collaboration and utilise breakout rooms. Everyone can easily talk and share ideas.
- Webinars are ideal for large presentations with controlled interaction and can be open to the public. Attendees join without using their audio or video and typically don’t interact with one another. Think of webinars like a virtual lecture hall or auditorium.
For more information, see when to use meetings vs webinars (zoom.com).
Licence upgrades and requests
Standard licences
Staff and students have different licences. As standard:
- Staff can host meetings with up to 500 participants and webinars with up to 500 participants.
- Students can host meetings with up to 300 participants. (Student licences don't include webinar hosting capabilities as standard but this can be made available at request.)
Upgrades
If you need to host meetings or webinars with more participants, IT Services can upgrade your Zoom licence on a case-by-case basis. Licences can accommodate:
- meetings for up to 500 participants
- webinars for up to 1,000, 3,000, 5,000, or 10,000 participants.
If you require these features, please request a zoom licence upgrade.