Zoom is a video conferencing platform that allows students and faculty to come together virtually. The Zoom software allows users to create a free account; however, some GCU students and faculty members will need to use a licensed account. If you are a counseling or social work student or a GCU faculty member, you will receive an invitation to create a licensed account through GCU. We have gathered some common questions and answers related to the Zoom platform.
The invitation for a licensed account will be sent to your GCU email address. The invitations are only valid for 30 days.
After clicking the Activate Your Zoom Account button, you’ll be prompted to sign in with Google, Facebook, or Sign Up with a Password. You can choose whichever option you prefer.
If you have not received an invitation, the invitation expired, or if your GCU issued Zoom account name is incorrect, contact GCU Technical Support using the Need Help? icon in the upper-right corner.
To ensure that you are accessing your licensed account through GCU and have access to all of the features, you need to go to gcu.zoom.us.
If you need to reset your password or have difficulties using the Zoom software, navigate to support.zoom.us for further assistance.
The following devices are compatible with the Zoom downloadable software:
- Mac OS 10.9 or Later
- Windows 7, 8, and 10 (Windows 10 S is not supported by Zoom)
- Chromebooks
- iOS
- Android
Zoom is also accessible through a browser without downloading additional programs. The following browsers are compatible with Zoom web client:
- Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Edge
- Mozilla Firefox
- Google Chrome
For more information about the system requirements for Zoom, navigate to System Requirements.
It is important to have an up-to-date version of Zoom installed onto your computer. To update Zoom, follow the instructions below.
- Open the Zoom desktop program.
- Click on your profile in the upper-right corner.
- Select Check for Updates.
- Zoom will look for any updates available and start to update the software if needed.
- To set up a meeting, start by opening the Zoom software and select New Meeting.
- You will be prompted to choose audio settings. Choose to either Join with Computer Audio or use the Phone Call tab to call in instead.
- Once the meeting has started, select the Participants button at the bottom, and then the Invite button on the right-hand side.
- You can invite contacts within the Zoom system already via the Contacts tab. If you’d like to invite someone via email, click the Email tab
If you have problems using the Zoom desktop software, try restarting your computer and checking for updates. If you are using the Zoom web client through the browser, try completing some basic troubleshooting like clearing your cache and cookies or switching browsers.
- Open Zoom and start a meeting.
- You will be prompted to choose audio settings upon starting the meeting. Choose to either Join with Computer Audio or use the Phone Call tab to call in instead.
- Select the Record button from the task bar at the bottom of the screen. You can choose to record to your computer or to the cloud.
NOTE If you do not have audio turned on for the meeting yet, you will be prompted to either Join Audio or Continue without audio before starting the recording. - To confirm that the meeting is being recorded, look in the upper left corner. You should see an indicator that says “Recording…” as well as pause and stop You can also Pause / Stop Recording from the task bar at the bottom of the screen. Once you’re ready to stop recording, click Stop.
- End the meeting, and after a few moments the software should open the File Explorer location for the mp4 file. If the File Explorer does not open automatically, you can locate your recording file by navigating to the Zoom folder on your device.
On a PC, this can be found through the following path: This PC > Documents > Zoom > Select the folder for the appropriate recording.
On a Mac, this can be found through the following path: Documents > Zoom Select the folder for the appropriate recording. - There will be three files present within the folder you have selected. If you’d like just the audio from the recording, select the audio_only If you’d like the video and audio elements together, select the zoom_0 file.
- To upload a Zoom recording to the Learning Management System (LoudCloud), you’ll first need to upload the file to OneDrive. You can access OneDrive directly through your GCU Portal, or by navigating to https://onedrive.com/.
If you need assistance accessing OneDrive, we have an article for that! Check out: Microsoft Online Programs in the GCU Portal. - Once you’ve logged into OneDrive, select the Upload button at the top of the page, and select Files.
- The File Explorer will open. Locate and select the recording you would like to upload. Then click Open.
- Now that the file has been uploaded, you will need to create a link so that the recording can be shared with others. Right click the file and select Copy Link.
A pop up will appear which confirms that the link was copied. - Next, open a Word document on your device and paste the link onto it.
- Save the file somewhere easy to find, and with an appropriate title. You can now upload the Word document to your class as you would any other document! See (LMS) Submitting Your Assignments for a step by step guide of this process.
Faculty-Specific FAQs
When you create an account through Zoom without an invitation, the account will have the Basic license plan. To get a Pro License, faculty can contact GCU Help Desk to receive an invitation. To contact Help Desk, check out our article When to Contact Our IT Help Desk.
Yes! Additional resources available for faculty can be found on CIRT by going to the Zoom Workshop.