Zoom launched an update in May 2020 in response to security concerns. As part of this change they added a waiting room feature. Zoom and OneSchool are now adding an additional policy change which will enforce all meetings to automatically have a waiting room.
The introduction of waiting room means that participants will only have access to a zoom meeting when the host grants it to them.
OneSchool is implementing waiting rooms on all meetings on September 20, 2020 and all zoom meetings after this date will have a waiting room.
You may already have the waiting room feature turned on for your meetings and there will be no change for you.
You may have turned on the passcode feature for your meetings, and this will continue to apply in addition to the waiting rooms. OneSchool is NOT requiring the general use of meeting passcodes, so you may choose to turn this aspect off.
Guidance on how to work with waiting rooms follows.
Using a Waiting Room as a Host
As a host, when you launch your meeting you will see the usual Zoom screen. When someone joins the Meeting, you will hear an alert tone and then a pop up will indicate someone has joined the waiting room. You can press Admit to allow them in instantly. Alternatively clicking on See Waiting Room or Participants will let you see who is in the waiting room. |  |
The waiting room will look like this. You can select Admit to let people in one at a time, or press Admit all to allow entry for everyone waiting at that time. Please note if anyone else joins after this point you will need to admit them – you will get the same pop up alert. You can also message everyone in the waiting room by pressing “Message”. Once someone is admitted, if you need to remove them, viewing the participants list again will give the option to put someone in a waiting room or remove from the meeting altogether. |  |
| If someone joins who you don’t recognize or who shouldn’t be in the meeting, click Remove. Remember you can force people to use their pre-set Zoom Account names by pressing Security and making sure the “Allow Participants to rename themselves” option is not ticked. |  |
Using a Waiting Room as a Participant
You’ll see a screen like this – depending on if the host has customized the message you may see other images or information. The host is aware you are there. You cannot see who else is waiting and you cannot communicate with anyone else while in the room. Your host may send a message to everyone in the waiting room which will appear on this screen. You can test your Computer Audio if you wish by clicking the button at the bottom of the screen. |  |
More information from Zoom regarding Waiting Rooms can be found here:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115000332726-Waiting-Room