Zoom brings many opportunities to reach people across boundaries and we have heard many positive stories on how Zoom has truly blessed so many people. People are lonely and bored being stuck at home so Zoom allows people to connect and share positive news (Gods good news) which is fantastic. As many of you are new to Zoom we wanted to share with you some resources to help you get the most out of the platform.
First we acknowledge that in the news this week there have been many references to Zoom security. Like any technology there are security risks however there are ways to protect ourselves and on Monday I shared ways you can do so. For those who missed it I have included it at the end of this letter below. The Founder and CEO of Zoom wants you to know they are taking Zoom security very seriously so has released an open letter to you all to let you know what they are doing to guard your privacy. You can read it here: https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/04/01/a-message-to-our-users/
To get the most out of Zoom we would encourage you to watch some of the training videos. They are short and focused and could really help you get confidence in using Zoom.
· Trainings and tutorial webinars
· Webinar sign-ups for various platform trainings
Many of you have asked how to live stream. The good news is that you can live stream from within Zoom easily to YouTube, Facebook and others. Here are some guides on how to do this;
Many churches and Sabbath school classes have benefited from breakout rooms where you can start with a full group then break out into smaller groups for discussions;
Below is the link for how to use Zoom breakout rooms.
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206476093-Getting-Started-with-Video-Breakout-Rooms
Some groups found it very beneficial to open the meeting up for 30 minutes before so people could just chat socially and have time to catch up before the program formally starts. Also on Sabbath afternoons many small groups and youth groups opened up a meeting to their members to just “hang out” together or have “a virtual lunch” where people felt free to come and go any time. It has provided many with a chance to have a chat.
Some people don’t have a computer or smart device so its important to offer the option for people to “dial in” using their phone. On all the meeting invitations there is an Australian phone number people can call so they can use a regular phone to join the meeting.
