MTC Students,
Welcome to Summer at Midlands Technical College! With classes beginning on May 18 via alternative instruction, and mostly through the Zoom app, we wanted to share with you some best practices in order to help keep your Zoom meetings protected and running smoothly:
1. Do not share a link to a meeting on an unrestricted, publicly available social media post.
2. Ensure you are using the most updated version of the app. In January 2020, Zoom updated their software. In their security update, the software provider added passwords by default for meetings and disabled the ability to randomly scan for meetings to join.
3. Make sure that you are properly identified within the Zoom meeting and do not appear “nameless and faceless” or keep yourself listed as “iPhone.”
a. You can do this by turning on your camera and making sure that you’re unmuted when it’s your time to speak during the meeting.
b. If you don’t wish to use your camera during a meeting, you can also identify yourself with a stationary photo. Learn more about
customizing your profile here.
4. Make sure that you are properly prepared for your Zoom meeting.
a. You’re in an area where you can focus on your meeting, not walking around or driving, not in bed where you could accidentally fall asleep, no distractions (TVs, radios, people, etc.)
b. You’re appropriately dressed, not doing makeup and hair, washing hands, etc.
c. Your assignments are completed ahead of time and you should routinely check your email and D2L for new course items.
d. You remain attentive throughout the entire meeting. Please do not sign in and then walk away from your computer.
5. Ensure that you know how to work the technology required for your Zoom call.
a. Keep yourself muted unless you are speaking to the class.
b. Utilize the ‘raise hand’ feature instead of using the chat feature when trying to talk to/get your instructors attention during a class. Sometimes it’s hard for the instructor to read chats while trying to run the meeting.
With the transition of classes to online learning, the number of “Zoom bombing” attacks have risen. If you are a victim of a teleconference hijacking, or any cyber-crime, please report it to MTC’s Helpdesk immediately.
As always, the Helpdesk is available to assist you. Connect with us via phone: 803.738.7888 and email:
[email protected]
