Zoom’s in-meeting chat feature is an excellent channel for Q&A, comprehension checks, formative quizzes, and brief discussions (learn about some great pedagogical uses of Zoom’s in-meeting chat here). But Zoom has another chat option that is more powerful and persistent. Here are a few things you should know.
- We’re talking in this post about Zoom’s persistent chat, available via the Zoom app on your computer. It is much more robust than Zoom’s in-meeting chat feature.
- Zoom’s chat app is persistent. Unlike the in-meeting chat, which is only available to those present in the main room of a Zoom meeting, the chat app lets you create persistent channels and chats, and add students, faculty, and staff to the channel by their computing ID or name.
- Zoom’s chat app can be used to communicate across breakout rooms. Unlike the in-meeting chat, which is only open to participants in a particular breakout room or meeting, the zoom chat app isn’t tied to a particular room or space. That is, the whole class can use it to communicate regardless of whether they are currently in a shared room or meeting.
- You can use the chat app as a ‘back channel’ for communicating with a group of co-teachers, TAs, etc. Here are some of Zoom chat’s communication features:
- Type messages as you would in any instant messaging program
- Add audio messages
- Send files (which remain accessible in the persistent chat group at all times)
- Capture, annotate, and share screenshots from your computing screen
- Use emojis and gifs to react to others
- Star and pin posts that you want to keep track of
- Start instant Zoom meetings from inside the chat
- Adjust privacy and notifications settings for each channel
- For best results, use Zoom’s persistent chat app from the desktop app on your computer, and keep Zoom up to date. Learn to update your Zoom.
