When learning from a distance through Zoom, there are an intimidating amount of features present that may overwhelm you. Here are the basics to help you get started.

Mute/Unmute Your Microphone

Usually, your teacher will request that you mute your microphone when joining a meeting. You should unmute it when you are speaking, muting it again when you are done. At the bottom of your Zoom window, you should see a bar of options. Clicking the "mute" icon on the bottom left will toggle mute for your microphone.

Pro tip: If you have the Zoom window focused, holding the SPACE bar down will unmute you so you can speak until you let go.

Change Your View

When in a Zoom meeting, there are two ways to display everyone who is in the call with you. The two layouts are called "Speaker View" and "Gallery View". Speaker view will display the person who is speaking or last spoke and gallery view will display as many people as your computer supports. To switch which view you are in, click on the button in the upper right.

Pro tip: You can enter speaker and gallery view by using the Alt+F1 and Alt+F2 keyboard shortcuts, respectively.