Hosting Office Hours in Zoom

April 7, 2020 /

Personal Meeting Room

Zoom allows you to schedule an unlimited number of meetings, but having different meeting IDs for both class time and office hours can lead to a long, confusing list. One alternative to hosting office hours or advising appointments in Zoom is that you can use your Personal Meeting Room. This is a virtual meeting room permanently reserved for you. You can share the Personal Meeting ID or Personal Link with your students, along with the times when you will be there, and they can join your Personal Meeting Room any time it is in use.

Below are instructions for accessing your Personal Meeting Room using the Zoom web client, Zoom in Moodle, and the Zoom desktop client.

Using the Zoom Web Client

To set up your Personal Meeting Room, navigate to trincoll.zoom.us and log in with your TC username followed by @trincoll.edu. This will allow you to access the Zoom web client.

Select Profile from the left hand menu bar to view and customize your Personal Meeting ID and Personal Link.

Personal Link

  • Select Customize to set your own unique Personal Link.
  • Click the blue Save Changes button.
  • Share the URL with your students, and they can use it to join Zoom office hours in your Personal Meeting Room.

Personal Meeting ID

  • Select Edit to change your Personal Meeting ID.
  • Click the blue Save Changes button.
  • Share this nine-digit code with your students, and they can use it to join Zoom office hours in your Personal Meeting Room.
  • If you check the box to Use this ID for instant meetings, every time you start an instant meeting (using the Host a Meeting option in the web client, for instance) it will automatically be held in your Personal Meeting Room.

Scheduled Hours

To schedule a series of office hours in your Personal Meeting Room, select Schedule a Meeting in the top right menu of the Zoom web client.

Scroll down to Meeting ID and select the Personal Meeting ID option.

Recommended Settings

1. It is recommended to set up a waiting room, especially for private advising appointments. To set up a waiting room for your office hours, scroll down to Meeting Options and check the box next to Enable waiting room.

2. By default, you will receive email notifications when students join the meeting ahead of you or if they click on the link outside of office hours. To turn off those notifications, select Settings in the left hand menu bar. Select Email Notifications and turn off the “When attendees join meeting before host” option.

Using Zoom in Moodle

If you have already set up Zoom meetings in your Moodle course, then you can follow these steps to start office hours in your Personal Meeting Room.

  • Navigate to your Moodle course and open the Zoom tool (look for the green puzzle piece icon).
  • Select Personal Meeting Room from the top menu bar.
  • This is where you can find the unique Personal Meeting ID and Personal Link to share with your students.
  • To start your meeting, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select the blue Start this Meeting button.
  • To edit your meeting preferences, scroll down and select the white Edit this Meeting button.

Using the Zoom Desktop Client

To start an instant office hours meeting in your Personal Meeting Room using the Zoom desktop client, follow the instructions below.

  • Open the Zoom desktop client.
  • Click the downward arrow beside New Meeting and check the box to Use My Personal Meeting ID.
  • Now when you click the orange New Meeting button, it will automatically open the new Zoom meeting in your Personal Meeting Room.