As we embrace this new virtual year, here is a breakdown of everything you need to know about two of the most popular online learning applications: Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Security
Zoom:
Hosts can remove participants if necessary
Enable or disable participants to record
A secure meeting is encrypted
Once the host locks the meeting no one else can join
Anyone with the link can join but they may need a password and meeting ID
Participants need host’s permission to share their screen
Waiting rooms are enabled by the host
Host can mute or unmute participants
Private messages between participants cannot be viewed by the host
Can prevent participants from starting their video
The host controls who enters meetings and those who remain in the waiting room
Host can record the meeting, and video saves to a designated file location once the meeting ends
Teams:
Offers two-factor authentication and single sign on with encryption
The host controls those who enter meetings and those who remain in the waiting room
Host can remove participants
Participants need host’s permission to share their screen
The “attendees” or the “presenters” are chosen by the host
Hosts can turn on moderation to monitor who can launch new posts and respond to posts on that channel
Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) protects the chat box from bullying comments
All participants are notified when a meeting is being recorded via a privacy notice
Accessibility
Zoom:
You can choose between a gallery view and a presenter view
The host can choose to have the same meeting code and password every time or they can choose to have a unique meeting ID and password each time.
The personal meeting ID (PMI) choice needs to be enabled in order to use the same PMI everytime.
Teams:
You can choose between gallery view and presenter view, but gallery view images are smaller
Meetings can be found on Teams calendar
Meeting links can be emailed
Whiteboard feature
Zoom:
The whiteboard image and annotations can be saved and sent to the recipients only
The whiteboard image is a multi-touch screen
Teams:
Allows for students work to be shared with the entire team in a virtual setting
Sharing the whiteboard allows for the host and participant to draw
Maximum Conference Time
Zoom:
The free version allows a maximum of 100 users and 40-minute long meetings
The Pro plan is $149.90 a year and allows 100 users and meetings can last up to 30 hours
The Business Plan, $199.90 a year, and the Zoom Unlimited Business plan, $300 a year, both host up to 300 users and provide unlimited meeting times
Teams:
Meet-now meetings will expire 8 hours after start time
All other meeting types will expire after 60 days
Recordings
Zoom:
Recordings will save after the meeting ends and the host decides where to save it based on memory availability
Teams:
Recordings are automatically saved to the Microsoft stream on the Teams platform where everyone can view the recording
Chat feature
Zoom:
Messages can be sent publicly for all participants to see or privately with the host or other participants
If the participant sends a message to another participant the host cannot view it
The chat disappears when the meeting ends, but the host can save the chats
The host can choose who the participants communicate with and can disable the chat completely or partially
The auto-save chat will automatically save after the meeting ends on your computer
Includes a polling feature, which allows participants to respond anonymously, with responses shared with all participants
The host also has the ability to download the results of the polling that took place during the meeting
The host can decide who can copy/paste information from the chat specifically
Teams:
Participants cannot send private messages to anyone in a meeting
The chat feature saves with the recording at the end
If you don’t want to display chat, you can mute it