Zoom at the University of Ottawa
Professors, students and support staff can get an uOttawa Zoom account for free!
Account for Professors (PDF)
Account for Students (PDF)
What is Zoom?
Zoom is a web conferencing tool. It allows instructors to easily convene online meetings with students, chat with or without video enabled, and deliver presentations while maintaining a good quality connection among all participants.
What can I do on Zoom?
- Attend live course sessions
- Engage with your instructor through chat, audio,
- and video features
- Participate in Breakout Rooms and polls
- Host unlimited meetings with up to 300
- participants
- Hold 24-hour maximum group meetings
- Record meetings
- Screen share and more
What do I need to use Zoom?
- Computer/laptop/tablet/smartphone with a stable, high-speed internet connection (iOS and Android apps available).
- Headphones, earbuds, and/or speakers.
- Microphone (a separate microphone can be better than your device's built-in).
- Web camera (optional, preferred for face-to-face connection).
Getting Oriented on Zoom Tool Bar


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution–Non-Commercial 4.0 International License Teaching and Learning Services (2020), McGill University.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the minimum requirements to be able to use Zoom?
Processor and RAM requirements
Minimum | Recommended | |
---|---|---|
Processor | Single-core 1Ghz or higher | Dual-core 2Ghz or higher (Intel i3/i5/i7 or AMD equivalent) |
RAM | N/A | 4 Gb |
Notes:
- Dual and single-core laptops have a reduced frame rate when screen sharing (around 5 frames per second). For optimum screen-sharing performance on laptops, we recommend a quad-core processor or higher.
- Linux requires a processor or graphics card that can support OpenGL 2.0 or higher.
To see the full requirements, please visiting the Zoom website
Is there a specific Zoom client for the Apple M1 Processor?
How do I create/activate my educational license?
What do I do if I get an error message when I try to connect to Zoom through Brightspace?
How do I create/activate my uOttawa Zoom license as a Teaching Assistant?
How do I schedule a meeting?
How long are cloud recordings stored?
Do my attendees need to have a Zoom license to join my meeting?
How do I invite others to join my meeting?
How can I use virtual background?
How can I test my audio/video and other settings before my Zoom meeting?
How can I re-check my settings for a meeting?
How do I mute all participants?
How do I share my screen?
How can I share my smart phone screen and annotate during a meeting?
How do I set up polling questions?
Do I need to use the "Only authenticated users can join: uOttawa" setting and what does it mean?
How do I access Zoom recordings?
How can I record my meeting?