How to Host a Zoom Meeting: Tips and Precautions for a Secure Class Session

Hosting a successful Zoom meeting requires more than just clicking the 'Start' button. With so many distractions online, it's essential to take certain precautions to ensure that your students can focus on the lesson without interruptions from unwanted attendees. In this article, we'll provide you with some valuable tips and best practices for hosting a secure and productive Zoom meeting.

### Locking Your Meeting: Why It Matters

When you lock your meeting, you prevent anyone who doesn't have the meeting ID and password from joining. Sounds simple enough, but did you know that if you lock your meeting too early, you might miss out on students who are trying to join due to connection issues? To avoid this, select 'Manage Participants' and click on the More dropdown menu (not the three dots). From there, click on 'Lock Meeting.' This way, you can ensure that only authorized participants can enter the meeting.

### Securing Your Meeting: Tips for Hosts

So, how do you keep unwanted attendees from crashing your class? Follow these simple steps:

1. Lock your meeting after it starts: Think of it like closing the door to your classroom. Once everyone has joined, lock the meeting to prevent new participants from entering.

2. Don't share your meeting URLs publicly: It's easy to fall into the trap of sharing your meeting links on social media or a website, but this can lead to unwanted visitors joining your class. Generate unique meeting IDs for each session and keep them private.

3. Tell your students not to share meeting URLs with friends: Make sure your students understand the importance of keeping your meeting links confidential.

By following these simple precautions, you can ensure that your Zoom meetings remain secure and productive. Remember, a little planning goes a long way in maintaining a focused and distraction-free learning environment for your students.

How to host a zoom meeting