Zoom Concurrent Meetings

Using Google Meet, Zoom, etc.)
russellhltn
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#31

Post by russellhltn »

justinp wrote:On Sunday, we were able to run three concurrent meetings but in a dry run today, we couldn't get it to work. We need consistent performance. Is the limit truly two, or is it three on Sundays?
Are you sure one wasn't a breakout room or somehow running under a different license?

The official communication says the limit is two. I don't know how good Zoom is in enforcing their limits. You might have gotten away with something, but I wouldn't count on being able to do that every week.
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kentduke
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#32

Post by kentduke »

I tried to start 2 concurrent meetings. After starting the first one, it forced me to leave it before I could start the second one. I'm using the right login and should have this feature available, but it behaves as though I'm not a licensed user. Do you have to pass host over to someone in the first meeting before you can start the 2nd? Seems cumbersome.
russellhltn
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#33

Post by russellhltn »

I don't think you can be in two meetings at the same time on the same device.
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Mikerowaved
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#34

Post by Mikerowaved »

kentduke wrote:Do you have to pass host over to someone in the first meeting before you can start the 2nd?
Yes. That's the correct procedure to start two concurrent meetings.
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SingerGuy
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#35

Post by SingerGuy »

We have two different use-cases in our ward for the second hour. On Sunday School week we want our adults to be assigned to our three Gospel Doctrine rooms in a round-robin fashion so that all teachers receive an equal number of students. So that meeting URL is set up that people get to the main room and have to wait to be assigned to a class. I start that meeting on my laptop computer and I put in earphones so I can hear and speak. I keep that mike on mute. I then have the luxury of a Google Chromebook and I set it up on a cart next to my desk and set the youth classes up so that the kids can join their own room without supervision. The Zoom client on the Chromebook is not at all friendly for assigning co-hosts (necessary if the teachers are going to share content), so I close the client when it launches and then use the link to open the session in the browser. I then create rooms for Course 11 through 18 and rename them as appropriate. Now as the youth show up they can see where their class is and join on their own while I pay attention to my laptop and the arriving adults.

So one of me, two full screens, and a very busy 10 minutes going into the meetings and then everyone is settled and I can join one of the adult classes and enjoy the lesson. We've had two weeks so far and there are still bugs to be ironed out, but it is getting easier for me. The important thing to remember is that you can either let everyone share screens in your settings so you don't need to worry about co-hosts, or you can keep a sharp eye out as the teachers show up and give them the co-host privilege before they go into their room (which is easier than joining the room to do it). I encourage teachers to show up 10 minutes early so they can be the first ones in the room and I can pay more attention to them.

Oh, and I set up the meetings to repeat every week and on the 2nd and 4th Sundays I create Priesthood and Relief Society rooms for adults and allow them to self-select, and then Deacons, Teachers, Priests, Beehives, Mia Maids, and Laurels in the youth URL and let them self-select. Now I just have to watch for instructors to make them co-hosts. It goes much faster.

The only trick is those who don't have Zoom 5.3.0 or later are not able to join on their own and I have to help a few people.
awev
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#36

Post by awev »

As a small branch the non-adults are still conducting their own Zoom meetings from their own personal accounts. Last week was the first time we tried the two concurrent Zoom meetings for RS and EQ. The biggest concern was that if the EQ and RS presidents both had the log-in credentials then one of them would of been booted out as the second president singed in. The problem that we had was that people did not use the most recent links from the most recent emails, seems as if they had flagged/highlighted prior emails with the links for the prior meetings. It was interesting in me having to jump from one meeting to another and back again to try and troubleshoot, and also make the presidents hosts.

We face a couple problems in our branch. First, we are in a rural area, and the DSL based internet can be spotty at best, and not consistent across the county. At my residents I have 10 Mbps down/800 Kbps up at best, while at the church it is about double that, and we are the lucky ones, others are not able to get internet service at their residents at all. I have a non-member in my household that will go to another room to watch something on Netflix or Amazon Prime as over-the-air TV reception is awful, so that cuts into the bandwidth, and I am sure other people have similar situations. And like the DSL and over-the-air TV programing the cell phone service can be erratic as well, so those smart phones might work if you find the correct area, just don't face the wrong way.

The younger our member the more likely they are to have their own smart phone and tablet, and the youngest will have a tablet only. The older a person is the more likely they are to have a single computer just to email the grandchildren at the most, don't expect them to understand Zoom and how to use it without someone being at their side to help guide them the first couple times. About 11% of the households do not have a phone number or email address listed with their membership records - that is they are lacking both individual and household phone and email addresses, while only about 50% do have an listed for either an individual or the household. And how do we get the phone-in information to those without a computer or internet connection - we can't just email it to them.

Right now we are looking at a couple different things. First, have EQ start about a half hour earlier than RS, in the hopes that they will finish up first. Even if the EQ does not finish up first the wife can tell the husband to end the session as she has RS to attend to, using that computer (yes, the older folks in our branch). Next, we are enlisting the help of the missionaries to track down and verify some members along with their addresses, and have the missionaries inform the members they meet about the phone-in and on-line meetings. Third, we send out email reminders to our members that do have an email account each Sunday morning so they have the latest link on the top of the stack. Next I use the branch calendar to help post the links to the meetings. We have a monthly newsletter where we will include the information for joining the meetings by phone or electronic device for that month.

The challenges, and the solutions, are proving to be interesting. That ancient Chinese curse comes to mind - "May you live in interesting times".
swigginton
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#37

Post by swigginton »

We were hit twice by this limitation yesterday. Two of our wards had ward council Zoom meetings happening just prior to sacrament meetings. The sacrament meeting hosts needed to start the sacrament meeting webinar and get it set up. That required stopping the ward council meetings. We're having the ward move their meetings earlier so they finish at least 30 minutes prior to sacrament meeting. Zoom support is aware of the inability to concurrently have a webinar and meeting. Didn't expect it to be a problem, Would be nice if they could resolve that one.
rweebs
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#38

Post by rweebs »

You can also use the Host Key for this purpose. Go to your settings at Zoom.us and change "Allow participants to join before host" to 15 minutes before the meeting. Then schedule a meeting and make sure that that box is check in the scheduling options. On your Profile page at Zoom.us you can find your 6-digit host key (it is hidden under ******) click "show" to view it. You can also change it anytime there isn't a live meeting running as well. Provide the host key to the person who will run the meeting and they can join 15 minutes ahead of time and claim host. On Windows Zoom app, click on "participants" and then "Claim host". On Android (and I believe iphone/ipad) click "More" the "Claim Host Role". Just make sure to tell the person you share with it that it is not be shared with others.
BrianEdwards
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#39

Post by BrianEdwards »

If this has been answered, sorry for re-asking. Regarding the Hosts for concurrent meetings, I'm not sure if the two separate "concurrent meeting hosts" can both be using the same "Unit Zoom Account Login". I know I can be logged onto the same Zoom meeting multiple times as the same account owner.

I guess for example, if the EQ and RS both wanted to have concurrent meetings, could they both log into the Zoom account using the unit login, and then have one of them be assigned the host of one meeting while the other starts the second (concurrent) meeting? In this scenario, who actually has control if both are logged in via the unit account, the person who logs in first?

We're considering if we want to let our leaders work things out amongst themselves, at this point I don't think we are able to have a single member who would act as "Tech Specialist" who would always be the gatekeeper for all such scenarios.

Note: I think this is ok to ask in this thread, but if this is better served as a new conversation, I can ask it separately
russellhltn
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Re: Zoom Concurrent Meetings

#40

Post by russellhltn »

BrianEdwards wrote:I guess for example, if the EQ and RS both wanted to have concurrent meetings, could they both log into the Zoom account using the unit login, and then have one of them be assigned the host of one meeting while the other starts the second (concurrent) meeting? In this scenario, who actually has control if both are logged in via the unit account, the person who logs in first?
I'm not sure of the answer. If you don't get an answer here, you can get with a trusted friend with their device and give it a try.

But I'd suggest looking over this thread about how to do this with the Host Key. Someone would create and meetings. The EQ and RS leaders would both have host keys, so when they join the meeting, they can assume host duties of their respective meetings without have to use the ward login. There's more details, but that's the high-level overview.
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