Video Conferences

This article covers using video conferences for individual meetings and small group collaborations. To learn about using video conferences for teaching or learning within Canvas, see Video Conferences for Instruction.

Penn offers both Zoom and Microsoft Teams for video conferencing, but most classes will take place on Zoom. Teams is not covered in this article.

Before You Start 
You will need the following before you can complete this task: 

  • An active PennKey account
  • Faculty and Staff: admin access to your devices (to install the app)
    • Zoom is generally pre-installed on Wharton-provided laptops or desktops (but not on smartphones).

Zoom

Zoom is a cloud-based cross platform video conferencing service. Zoom makes it easy to collaborate with your colleagues, and can be started and joined via a PC, Mac, smartphone, or regular landline (audio only). Each meeting can accommodate up to 300 participants and supports recording of the meeting and screen/media sharing. All Wharton students, faculty, and staff have access to Zoom.

Install the Zoom App

The native Zoom app isn't required to use Zoom, but we highly recommend it for the best Zoom experience. Read Logging into Wharton Zoom for instructions detailing installing and logging into the Windows, Mac, and mobile versions of the app.

If you are working on a Wharton-provided laptop or desktop, Zoom should already be pre-installed.

Accessing Zoom Meetings

Is your Zoom meeting for a Wharton class?  Log into Canvas first, launch your class, and then choose Zoom from the left navigation pane. (Most Zoom meetings for classes are created through Canvas.)

Although we recommend accessing any video conferences created in Canvas by logging in via Canvas, it's also possible to see all your meetings by logging directly into the meeting software (https://upenn.zoom.us).

Scheduling a Meeting 

Scheduling for a class that's using Canvas? See Video Conferences for Instruction.

Not scheduling a meeting for a class that's using Canvas? Follow these directions:

Advanced Features

Advanced features are useful in customizing your meetings.  You can customize them on a per meeting basis, or for all the meetings that you schedule.

  • Scheduled meeting sessions: for meetings that you are scheduling, any changes you make will only affect that meeting.
  • Personal settings: if you make changes in your personal settings, that will affect all meetings that you schedule.

For security, moderators have the ability to lock out users from joining their meeting (indicated with a lock icon at the top left corner of their screen).An unlocked lock icon means the meeting is unlocked.

Feature Recommendations

Zoom has a large number of feature settings. Here are suggestions for a variety of settings.

Questions?

For additional help and support: