Managing Bigger Classes

Owned by Jummain
Last updated: 05 Aug 2024
5 min read

There are a few ways to set up your meetings if you wish to limit your participants to only be able to view and listen to you.

They are useful in managing the bigger lecture groups, make meetings like an event webinar and also to prevent "Zoom Bombers" from taking over your stage.

Q&A  NEW

How to schedule a meeting with Q&A
  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Meetings.
  3. Choose to edit an existing meeting or schedule a new meeting.
  4. Under Meeting Options, select the check box to enable Q&A.
    Note: If the option is missing, it has been disabled at the account level, and you will need to contact your Zoom administrator.
  5. Click Schedule.

NOTE: This option is not available in Canvas yet. Schedule the meetings first, then Edit this Meeting in Zoom web portal. 

Edit Q&A options
  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Meetings.
  3. Click the topic of your meeting.
  4. At the top of the meeting details, click the Q&A tab.
  5. Click Edit to adjust the following settings:
    • Allow anonymous questions: Select this option to allow participants to send questions without providing their name to the host and co-hosts.
    • Allow participants to view: Choose if you want attendees to be able to view answered questions only or view all questions.
      • If you choose for participants to view all questions, you can then enable the following options:
      • Participants can upvote: Participants can view all submitted questions and upvote questions important to them. This can help point out to the host and co-hosts questions that more participants want the answer to.
      • Participants can comment: Participants can view all submitted questions and add additional comments.
  6. Click Save.
    Note: These options can also be configured by the host in the live meeting.
Manage Q&A during a meeting
Answer submitted questions
  1. As the host or co-host, click Q&A  in the meeting controls.
    All submitted questions will be listed, with questions submitted by attendees external to the account indicated by (Guest) next to their name.
  2. Find the question you would like to answer: 
    • Click Answer Live to mark the question as something that will be answered out loud during the meeting.
    • Click Type Answer to provide a written response for the participant. Type your answer and click Send.
      Note: If you allow participants to comment on questions, the questions will still appear in the Open list and can be responded to, even if a participant has commented on the question.
          • (Optional) Select the Send Privately checkbox before clicking send, if you would like to answer to the participant only.
    1. As the host or co-host, click Q&A  in the meeting controls.
    2. All submitted questions will be listed, with questions submitted by attendees external to the account indicated by (Guest) next to their name.
    3. Find the question you would like to answer: 
      • Click Answer Live to mark the question as something that will be answered out loud during the meeting.
      • Click Type Answer to provide a written response for the participant. Type your answer and click Send.
        Note: If you allow participants to comment on questions, the questions will still appear in the Open list and can be responded to, even if a participant has commented on the question.
      • (Optional) Select the Send Privately checkbox before clicking send, if you would like to answer to the participant only.
Dismiss questions
  1. As the host or co-host, click Q&A  in the meeting controls.
  2. Hover over the question that you would like to dismiss and click the ellipsis icon .
  3. Tap Dismiss or Delete.
    Dismissed questions will no longer be visible to participants and moved to the Dismissed tab for the host and co-hosts, while deleted questions will be fully deleted and cannot be reopened.
Reopen dismissed questions
  1. As the host or co-host, click Q&A  in the meeting controls.
  2. In the top-right corner of the Q&A window, click the gear  to open the settings window.
    • Allow anonymous questions: Check this option to allow participants to send questions without providing their name to the host and co-hosts.
    • Allow participants to view: Check either if you want attendees to be able to view answered questions only or view all questions.
      • If you choose for participants to view all questions, you can then enable the following options:
        • Participants can upvote: Participants can view all submitted questions and upvote questions important to them. This can help point out to the host and co-hosts questions that more participants want the answer to.
        • Participants can comment: Participants can view all submitted questions and add additional comments.

Additional Guide: Using Q and A in Zoom Meetings – Zoom Support

Focus Mode 

Zoom now offers the new Focus Mode to help students focus better during online learning. It allow students to stay attentive.

Focus mode can be started by Host and Co-Hosts of the meeting, using a Zoom desktop client with version 5.7.3 or higher.

  • Students will continue see host, co-hosts videos, spotlighted participants and shared presentations​
  • Host and co-host(s) will continue to see all participant's videos​
  • Participants will not see other participants (non-hosts) videos​
  • Participants will only see other participants boxes with their display name
  • Participants can still see other participants non-verbal feedback or reactions, and hear them when unmuted
  • Participants can still see their own video

To start Focus mode as the host or co-host of a meeting:

  1. Start a meeting as the host or co-hosts.
  2. Click More  on the meeting toolbar.
  3. Click Start Focus Mode.
  4. Click Start to confirm, or select the Don’t ask me again check box to skip this confirmation going forward.
  5. When Focus mode begins, you and the participants are notified with a banner along the top of the video window.
    The focus mode  icon is always visible in the top-left corner of the video window, next to the encryption icon, while focus mode is active.

To end Focus mode:

  1. Click More  on the meeting toolbar.
  2. Click Stop Focus Mode. 

Additional Guide: Focus mode – Zoom Help Center

Security Button (in-meeting security options)

  • Once you have started the Zoom meeting, click on Security Button .

  • Select/unselect the relevant options. What each option does:
    1. Lock Meeting: Prevents new participants from joining the meeting.
    2. Enable Waiting Room: Enables Waiting Room for incoming new participants
    3. Hide Profile Pictures: Hide all profile pictures, including the host. Display names are shown instead.
    4. Share Screen: Allows participants to share their screens.
    5. Chat: Allows participants to use the text chat function.
    6. Rename themselves: Allow participant to rename themselves.
    7. Unmute themselves: Allow participant to unmute their mic themselves.
    8. Start Video: Allow participant to start sending their webcam video
    9. Share Whiteboard: Allows participants to share whiteboards.
    10. Suspend Participant Activities All video, audio, in-meeting chat, annotation, screen sharing, and recording during that time will stop, and Breakout Rooms will end.


Allow Participants to Chat with Host(s) only

In the host controls, click on Security Button.

  • Check Allow Participants to Chat:

In the host controls, click on Chat Button.

  • You may want to control who attendees can chat with:
    1. No one: Disable the text chat.
    2. Host only: Allows them to ONLY chat with Host and Co-Hosts.
    3. Everyone publicly: Allows them to ONLY chat publicly. No private chat.
    4. Everyone publicly and privately: The default option. Allows them to chat publicly and privately.

Spotlight video on yourself or a selected participant

  1. Hover over the video of the participant you want to spotlight and click ...
  2. Select Spotlight Video.
  3. Spotlight video puts a participants as the primary active speaker for all participants.
  4. All participants will only see this speaker as the active speaker.
    Note: Pin video is different. Pin video will only make the participant as primary only on your device.

Use with Poll Everywhere for an enhanced Live Response tool

  1. In Zoom, you can do a simple poll with single option or multiple option MCQ.
  2. You may want to consider using Poll Everywhere to engage students just like in a physical class.
  3. There are questions types Q&A and Word Cloud which are highly popular.
  4. Refer to the step by step guide on using Poll Everywhere with Zoom.



Best practices for hosting large meetings (zoom.com)