Help with using Zoom
Last updated: January 13, 2023, 3:16 p.m.
***The content on this page will be continually updated.
These are the features your professor might use in your virtual Zoom class. As a participant your screen may look a little different.
Meeting basics
Breakout rooms are a way of conducting group work in Zoom sessions. They provide opportunities for students to work together, solve problems and discuss course content.
Sometimes, the instructor requires students to work in specific groups that have already been designated, for example by Moodle or for a group project. If the instructor wants students to work in these groups, there are limited options for configuring these groups in Zoom. The instructor does have the option of preconfiguring these rooms, but it requires that students activate and use Concordia credentials to log into Zoom. In many cases, it is simply not possible to pre-configure rooms.
Therefore, in some cases, your instructor may ask you to “self-select” your breakout room. This is a new feature that enables you to click to join a room of your choosing or a room designated to you by your instructor.
In order for you to be able to use the self-select feature, you will need to join the meeting from the application (either on a computer or mobile device) and have version 5.3.0 or higher.
If you have not update the app, recently, it is recommended that you update it before joining your next meeting.In order to use the self-selection feature, you must join the meeting from a desktop or mobile app, and NOT the browswer.
Follow the instructions below to join a breakout room in Zoom.
1. Once the instructor has signaled the opening of the breakout rooms, click the the breakout room icon that will appear in your Zoom menu bar.
This is usually located at the bottom of your screen.

The Breakout Rooms – In Progress window opens.
2. Click the blue number to the right of the room number (or name) you would like to join.
This number indicates the number of people in the room already.

Once in the breakout room, you can leave any time by clicking the Leave button and returning to the main room. However, you instructor will most likely close the rooms when the designated amount of time is up, and you will return to the main room automatically.
To share files and documents on your screen with students, follow these steps:
1. When you are ready to share any documents or websites, click Share.
A window appears with all your opened documents.

2. Select the appropriate document and click Share.
Note: Only one document can be shared at a time
Note: If you are displaying a PowerPoint slide deck, select “Slideshow” mode for optimal viewing.

3. To stop displaying the document to your students, click Stop Share.

4. If at any point you want to share another document, repeat steps 2 and 3.
It is recommended to pause your lecture every 10 to 15 minutes to address student questions in the Chat box, particularly during long lectures. When you do this, tell students what you are doing. For example, say “I am going to pause for a moment to look through the chat to see if there are any questions.” Alternatively, you can designate the last 10 – 15 minutes at the end of the class for questions.
To open the chat box, click on the Chat icon in the bottom navigation bar.
There many be several situations where you might like to make other participants in your session a co-host A co-host can share their screen, so it may be necessary in the following situations:
- asking your TA to run a session or a partial session
- asking students to give a presentation or share something online
- hosting a guest speaker
To make a specific participant a co-host, follow these steps:
1. With your Zoom meeting open, locate the Participants window and open it to display the list of participants.
2. From the participant list, hover over the participant who you want to give co-hosting privileges to.
3. Click More.
Options appear for this participant.

4. Click Make Co-Host.
That participant now has all the same options for the meeting as you have, including being able to share the desktop.
*****Please DO NOT select Make Host. You will lose your control over the meeting.*****
Zoom Help Center
Zoom Help Center
Using interactive features in Zoom
Coming soon.
Further resources
- Concordia Moodle Help for Students (Moodle login required)
- For students
- Downloading Moodle mobile app
- Accessing Concordia’s Learning Technologies
- Attending your course meetings from the Moodle mobile app
- Attending your course meetings from Moodle
- Accessing recorded lectures from the Moodle mobile app
- Accessing recorded lectures from Moodle
- Help with using Zoom
- Tips for taking quizzes and exams in Moodle
- Zoom Etiquette for Students