27 Apr Zoom Now Offers a Cool Immersive View

Are you tired of looking at the same old view in your Zoom meetings? You’re not alone! It appears that even the people who work at Zoom are tired of the same old views. To remedy that problem, on Monday Zoom introduced a new immersive view option for Mac and Windows users. 

Zoom’s immersive view will show your meeting participants on same screen in background of your choosing. Zoom has a bunch of pre-made immersive view backgrounds that you can pick from including an art gallery view, a fireside chat view, board rooms, and even an outdoor setting. You can also upload your own image to use as part of an immersive view. 

When you enable immersive view for a Zoom meeting all participants will be placed into position in the immersive view scene. The default setting is for Zoom to automatically place participants in the scene, but you can choose to manually place people in the scene. 

Three Steps to Enable Zoom’s Immersive View

First, you need to be aware that immersive view is available by default to those who are using personal or pro (single license) accounts and have updated to the latest version of Zoom for Windows or Mac. If you are using a school license or other group license for Zoom, your account administrator (usually your IT department) will need to enable immersive view for your account. 

Second, make sure you are using the latest version of Zoom for Mac or Windows. You can do this by launching Zoom on your desktop, signing into your account, then selecting “check for updates” in the drop-down menu under your account profile picture. 

Third, launch a Zoom meeting. With the meeting running click on the “view” button in the upper-right corner of your Zoom window. The view button should now have three options. Those options are “speaker,” “gallery,” and “immersive” view. Click on the immersive view option and you’ll be asked to pick a background for your immersive view. 

Three Common Questions

Zoom has an extensive set of immersive view directions and FAQs on their website. The ones that I think teachers and students will ask about are whether or not immersive view works on Chromebooks, if virtual backgrounds are required, and how many people can be in an immersive view. 

1. It doesn’t work on a Chromebook or iPad. 

2. If your computer doesn’t currently support virtual backgrounds/ green screen in Zoom, the immersive view option won’t work for you either. 

3. You can have up to 25 people in an immersive view. 

Applications for Education
Using immersive view in Zoom meetings probably isn’t going to make a significant change to the way that you teach in Zoom. That said, at this point in the school year, I think we could all emotionally benefit from adding a little fun and novelty into our next Zoom meetings.

On the topic of virtual meetings, this summer I’m hosting the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp. It will be conducted via GoToWebinar instead in Zoom.

Are you tired of looking at the same old view in your Zoom meetings? You’re not alone! It appears that even the people who work at Zoom are tired of the same old views. To remedy that problem, on Monday Zoom introduced a new immersive view option for Mac and Windows users. Zoom’s immersive view will show your meeting participants on same screen in background of your choosing. Zoom has a bunch of pre-made immersive view backgrounds that you can pick from including an art gallery view, a fireside chat view, board rooms, and even an outdoor setting. You can also upload your own image to use as part of an immersive view. When you enable immersive view for a Zoom meeting all participants will be placed into position in the immersive view scene. The default setting is for Zoom to automatically place participants in the scene, but you can choose to manually place people in the scene. Three Steps to Enable Zoom’s Immersive ViewFirst, you need to be aware that immersive view is available by default to those who are using personal or pro (single license) accounts and have updated to the latest version of Zoom for Windows or Mac. If you are using a school license or other group license for Zoom, your account administrator (usually your IT department) will need to enable immersive view for your account. Second, make sure you are using the latest version of Zoom for Mac or Windows. You can do this by launching Zoom on your desktop, signing into your account, then selecting “check for updates” in the drop-down menu under your account profile picture. Third, launch a Zoom meeting. With the meeting running click on the “view” button in the upper-right corner of your Zoom window. The view button should now have three options. Those options are “speaker,” “gallery,” and “immersive” view. Click on the immersive view option and you’ll be asked to pick a background for your immersive view. Three Common QuestionsZoom has an extensive set of immersive view directions and FAQs on their website. The ones that I think teachers and students will ask about are whether or not immersive view works on Chromebooks, if virtual backgrounds are required, and how many people can be in an immersive view. 1. It doesn’t work on a Chromebook or iPad. 2. If your computer doesn’t currently support virtual backgrounds/ green screen in Zoom, the immersive view option won’t work for you either. 3. You can have up to 25 people in an immersive view. Applications for EducationUsing immersive view in Zoom meetings probably isn’t going to make a significant change to the way that you teach in Zoom. That said, at this point in the school year, I think we could all emotionally benefit from adding a little fun and novelty into our next Zoom meetings. On the topic of virtual meetings, this summer I’m hosting the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp. It will be conducted via GoToWebinar instead in Zoom. This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Sites that steal my (Richard Byrne’s) work include CloudComputin, TodayHeadline, and 711Web.Free Technology For Teachers, how to, Hybrid Instruction, Immersive View, online instruction, zoom, Zoom TipsRead More