New online learning platform brings familiar faces into our homes

Zoom is UCalgary’s new collaboration platform that helps you make class activities digital, just when we need it most. The tool has been enabled for our campus community and it’s full of features that will help our teaching, learning and work continue while we are just a little bit farther apart.

From sharing presentations or desktop, collaborating with others, conduct small group activities and more, all from virtually any device, Zoom helps us all work and learn more easily remotely. An account is not required if you are simply joining a meeting, but if you would like to create and host something, you will need to set one up.

“Zoom is an important platform to support teaching and learning at UCalgary and we are really glad to have it ready during this trying time for our academics, students and staff,” says Leslie Reid, vice-provost (teaching and learning). “Even though we are working from different locations, whether it’s on campus or at home, it’s a way for class activities to be recorded or shared in real-time. It’s important that we continue to stay connected while we work and learn differently.”

Zoom ties into both D2L and YuJa, creating a seamless experience for users that are working on UCalgary’s other learning technology platforms. There is also substantial information on eLearn about how to use Zoom effectively, record sessions, create meetings in D2L, and more.

If you’re wondering how to host a meeting from distance, or teach remotely, there are resources through the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. And if you have questions about how to use copyrighted resources through online teaching, reach out to the Copyright Office or read their guide.

“I am so inspired by how our academics have risen to a significant task of changing the way we teach at UCalgary, and how our students and staff have responded,” says Reid. “I’d like to thank our IT team and the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning for working together to make this happen so quickly — and our colleagues in the Werklund School of Education and the Faculty of Social Work for advocating for Zoom for the last few years.”

To set up your Zoom account, please log in. Click on Sign in – Configure your account. For further details, refer to Getting started through our eLearn site. Zoom is even connected through D2L — you can join a meeting or class while in your learning platform.

If you have questions about using Zoom, explore the eLearn information available, or to reach out to IT Services for technical support. The Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning will offer Introduction to Zoom sessions in April and May. Please check the course calendar for exact dates and times.

UCalgary resources on COVID-19

For the most up-to-date information about the University of Calgary's response to the spread of COVID-19, visit the UCalgary COVID-19 Response website.