What's new in Zoom for Fall 2024?

Quick Links: | Prerequisites | Streamlined Toolbar | Video Enhancements | Multi-Speaker View | Multishare Tabs | Advanced Polling | Breakout Options | Emerging Features |

Zoom 6.0 has arrived, bringing new features designed to enhance your meeting experience and make online classes more interactive and efficient. This guide covers the latest updates, including a streamlined toolbar, improved video and audio capabilities, multi-speaker view, advanced polling, and more.

The look and feel is significantly different, so take some time to get used to it before your next big meeting.

Prerequisites

• Zoom desktop app updated to version 6.0 or later.
• Basic knowledge of using Zoom for meetings and classes.
• Dual monitors recommended for Multi-Share Tabs feature.

New Features

New Icons & Streamlined Toolbar

To customize the Zoom toolbar in the Zoom 6.0 client, do the following:

1. Select the More button on the Zoom taskbar to access consolidated essential functions.
2. Drag and drop frequently used features (screen sharing, chat, participant management) onto the main toolbar.
3. To remove unused icons, drag the unwanted icon from the toolbar back to the "More" menu.
4. To reset the toolbar to its original state, select Reset to Default at the bottom of the "More" menu.

Video and Audio Enhancements

Zoom 6.0 improves audio and video as well as virtual background capabilities, allowing for better video quality and the ability to use GIFs and short videos. Spice up your lectures or create thematic backgrounds to match your course material. It’s a fun way to add visual interest to your classes.

To enhance your virtual background:

1. Go to Settings > Background & Effects.
2. Choose Add Image or Video to upload a GIF or short video as your background.
3. Select the desired background to apply it to your video.

Multi-Speaker View

Multi-speaker view dynamically adapts to current speakers by highlighting and enlarging their video tiles over others, while still providing a view of other participants in a smaller gallery view below. 

To enable Multi-Speaker View during a meeting, do the following

1. From the top title bar in a Zoom meeting, select the View menu
2. From the available view options, select Multi-Speaker.
3. The view will dynamically adapt to highlight current speakers. If your meeting has less than five participants, the gallery view will show instead.
4. To pin a video, right-click the participant's video and select Pin.
5. Note that spotlighting videos is not supported in this view.

For more details, see Adjusting your Video Layout for more information.

Multi-Share Tabs

During multi-sharing, when someone starts screen sharing, the shared content should automatically be the view of participants. If another participant shares the screen, that newly shared content will be the view of the participants. The host does not need to ask the participants to switch their view as this should be automatic. Any participants can still switch their view manually to whatever shared content they would like to view by selecting it on the tab.

To use Multi-Share Tabs:

1. Ensure the host has enabled multiple screen sharing.
2. Use the tabbed interface in the main meeting window to navigate and manage different shared screens.
3. If you are not using dual monitors, use the Show Meeting and Hide Meeting buttons as a workaround.

While Zoom recommends using dual monitors if you enable this setting. However, if you do not use dual monitors, try the Show | Hide Meeting button. It’s a nice workaround. 

Advanced Polling and Quizzes

Engage your participants with the upgraded polling and quiz features. You can now create more complex question types, such as matching and short answer, and view detailed analytics on student responses.

In addition, you can launch all your created polls or quizzes directly from your meeting without enabling them first.

To create and use advanced polls and quizzes:

1. During a meeting, select Polling > Create Poll.
2. Add complex question types like matching and short answer.
3. Launch polls directly in meetings and webinars without prior enabling.
4. Generate a QR code for in-room and online participants to scan and join the poll.

To centrally manage all of your Zoom polls:

1. Sign in to the Chico State Zoom portal.
2. Select Surveys.
3. From here, you can create a poll or select the star next to an existing poll to make it available in any of your Zoom meetings.

Improved Breakout Rooms

Breakout rooms now come with enhanced control options. You can pre-assign students to breakout rooms, set timers for activities, and even hop between rooms more seamlessly. Of particular note is the ability to Enable Participants to Join Breakout Room globally for all your meetings.

To manage breakout rooms effectively:

1. From your browser, sign in to the Chico State Zoom portal.
2. From the sidebar, select Settings.
3. From the top search bar, search for Breakout Rooms or look for the option under In-Meeting (Advanced) settings.
4. Select your desired options

Emerging Features

For new or emerging features:

• Explore the “New” Zoom Whiteboard for collaborative activities.
• Explore Zoom Notes for collaborative note-taking.
• Use the Google Drive File Share integration to share and collaborate on documents within Zoom. (OneDrive is under review)
• If you are using AI Companion, consider privacy and security implications when using Zoom's AI companion for meeting summaries. For more details on AI Assistants, see Channel Islands Tips for using AI Assistants.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

• Toolbar Customization Issues: Reset to default via the "More" menu.
• Background Quality: Ensure your video settings support high-quality backgrounds.
• Polling Problems: Verify the QR code generation and participant access.
• Breakout Room Errors: Double-check pre-assignments and timer settings.

Still need help? If you run into problems or still need help, faculty can reach out to the Technology & Learning Program and students can reach out to the Center for Technology Equity.