Zoom

You can generally use Zoom in your web browser. However, the features are limited here. Zoom is responsible for the data traffic on its website. If you use Zoom in your web browser, the connection is not encrypted.

If you install the desktop application, you can use all features. We recommend the installation if you want to host a meeting.

On the Zoom website, you will find more information on the differences between the versions: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360027397692-Desktop-client-and-mobile-app-comparison

Our IT Support is happy to help you installing Zoom on devices provided by the university.

Personal Zoom licenses are only available for (academic and non-academic) staff members of the University of Mannheim. Research assistants and students do not receive personal Zoom licenses.

→ How to log in with your personal Zoom license.

The registration for hosting is possible either by entering the host key (you can find it via ILIAS → Digitalisierung in der Lehre) or by using the meeting link for hosts via Portal2.

If you cannot access the course links via portal² , please check the following settings.

1. Agree to the Terms of Use

The course links will not be displayed until you agree to the Terms of use (Data Protection Policy).

Select the “I agree to the use” box in the “Show individual events” tab in Portal² under “Data Protection Policy”.

2. Check the participation options

To view the links, you must choose one of the following options:

• Live and on-campus & digitally live (not recorded)
• Digitally live (not recorded)
• Digitally live & recorded
• On-campus & digitally live – recorded

To do this, the basic data of the course must be changed in portal²: Detail view → Other features → Edit course → Edit basic data of the parallel group → Participation option

The change takes effect immediately and applies to all future classes. The Zoom links are displayed immediately and work. Once the setting is undone, all Zoom links are removed immediately.

3. Room features

In addition to checking the correct participation option, it must also be ensured that the room provides the correct features for the links to be displayed.

Use Portal ² to make sure that “Zoom” is listed in the room details under “Equipment” in the lecture hall you have selected.

You can also conduct an in-person course with a Zoom meeting in a room without the appropriate lecture hall equipment (i.e. with your own laptop). To do this, you must first book the actual room in Portal² as usual. To book and display the Zoom meeting, another series of appointments must be created in the course: To do this, create a second parallelgroup with identical appointments and select “Create Zoom meeting”.

Please disclose the information required to participate in the meeting only to the participants. Publishing the information on the website or on social media is not permitted.

When distributing the link, please make sure that the invited persons have access to the Terms of Use. Joining the meeting constitutes acceptance of the terms of use. Please use this link to distribute the Terms of Use: https://www.uni-mannheim.de/en/it/terms-of-use/zoom-requirements/.

Please note the following information on how to use Zoom:

• Participants only see the chat history from the moment they joined the meeting. They do not see what was written before. The chat history is not saved and will be deleted after the meeting has ended. The text from the chat history cannot be copied. However, this does not prevent others from taking screenshots. Therefore, please be careful about what you write in chat messages.
• It is also possible to join a Zoom meeting by phone.

The following settings have proven to be successful for Zoom meetings:

• Only the person currently presenting unmutes their microphone. This keeps the noise level down. As hosts you can end the video or sound transmission of participants or instruct the participants to end the transmission. You will find instructions under How do I host a virtual meeting?
• If there are problems with the video transmission, only the persons currently speaking should turn off their camera. This reduces network overload which may be a reason for poor audio and video quality.
• If you see any personal items in the video of a participant, please inform the participant in private (e.g. by sending a private chat message).
• If you host a meeting with many participants, we recommend getting additional hosting support and naming a “co-host” to support you during the meeting. This is particularly important for supervising the list of participants and the chat history.

To host you will need either the host key or the course link for hosts.

• Hosting is possible with a host key. You can find the host key via ILIAS → Digitalisierung in der Lehre.

The tasks and options of the host(s) are summarized in the Information on Hosting a Meeting on Zoom.

Please observe the requirements specified in the Terms of Use for Zoom as well as the Information on Hosting a Meeting on Zoom. The transcription is currently unavailable because it is part of cloud storage, which had to be disabled for data protection reasons.

As described in the Terms of Use, no Zoom session may be recorded without having obtained prior approval by the participants. This is required by copyright and data protection law and the participants have the right to refuse being recorded.

Please observe the following before you announce and start the recording.

• Before you start recording, please inform all participants verbally about the recording.
• When the host starts recording, a pop-up window will appear on the screen of all participants. The text in this window informs participants that they agree to the recording and publishing the recording in ILIAS if they continue to participate in the meeting. In addition, the participants are informed that they can interrupt the recording by disabled their cameras and microphones. If participants do not consent, they may leave the meeting.
• The participants may use a pseudonym and are not obliged to turn on their camera. In ILIAS, you will find templates for a “Netiquette” slide for PowerPoint which you can adjust to your needs.
• Please inform participants who join the meeting at a later point in time verbally about the recording. Nevertheless, these participants will see the pop up window.
• Do not call anyone by their name and do not disclose any personal information while you are recording. However, it is acceptable if f a participant actively interacts with you.
• As an alternative way to contribute to the discussion, the participants should be able to ask questions in the chat. Do not mention any names when you answer.
• Please record in the presenter mode. This way, the chat history and the list of participants cannot be seen on the participants’ screen even if you choose to display the chat history and the list of participants on your screen. Only your video should be visible. Detailed instructions are available in our FAQs.
• If participants turn on their microphone and contribute to the discussion, you may record their contribution. The same applies if students turn on their cameras and can be seen while they talk.
• If students can be seen or heard, the recording may only be used for the current semester and the relevant course. If you want to make a recording which you can also use in future semesters, please make sure that no data of students can be seen. You can also cut the video later on so that the students’ data is no longer visible.
• Inform the participants when you stop recording.

As personal data may be included in recordings of Zoom meetings, these recordings must only be saved and made available on ILIAS.

If you record the meeting, a video file is saved to your local computer. After you have uploaded the file to ILIAS, you must permanently and entirely delete this file.

If you need to save and publish the file outside of ILIAS, you need to document this process and the reasons for it, and present a plan for saving the file. Saving the file outside of ILIAS must be essential to the fulfillment of the hosts’ or the university’s duties. The person responsible for conducting the meeting is also responsible for properly saving the file.

Clicking this button will start the division of your class. A window will open in which you can adjust the breakup settings. You also have the option of reassigning the participants to different sessions or to interrupt or terminate the breakup.

For using Zoom as securely as possible while disclosing as little personal data as necessary, we recommend the following settings:

• You should have an individual password for each meeting.
• Deactivate your microphone and camera by default, as soon as you enter the meeting.
• It should not be possible to save recordings in the cloud.
• It should not be possible to save the chat history.
• It should not be possible to send files via Zoom.
• It should not be possible to send automatic feedback to Zoom.
• Using virtual backgrounds should be enabled and even recommended.
• Only the host should be able to start recording.
• Only the host should be able to make annotations.
• When entering the meeting, the participants’ microphones should be muted. The host should then decide if it is possible to unmute the microphones.
• The possibility to re-name oneself during a meeting should be enabled.
• The “datacenter regions” should be as limited as possible, at best, only data centers in the EU or the European Economic Area should be selected.

If third parties obtain information from the meeting, it is called a data breach. This can happen

• if unauthorized participants join the meeting, 
• if information on the meeting is published on unauthorized channels, 
• if the meeting is recorded without having obtained the affected persons’ approval.

Please contact the IT Support, if you suspect a data breach.